


Darkness's Son Two: The Light Is There

by HopeLions13



Series: Darkness's Son [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Dadvader, Darth Vader Raising Luke, Darth Vader's A+ parenting, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Imperial Luke Skywalker, Skywalker Family Drama (Star Wars), Teenage Luke Skywalker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-01-25 19:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21361606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeLions13/pseuds/HopeLions13
Summary: Luke Skywalker has been living with his father for four years, but that doesn't mean it's gotten any easier. Now that Luke is no longer a child he has to deal with a whole host of new problems. Sooner or later he's bound to crack under the pressure of what it means to be Darth Vader's Jedi son.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Series: Darkness's Son [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1362151
Comments: 33
Kudos: 182





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Luke bounded down one of the many alleys that cut his commute in half, laughing at the terrified look on his best friend, Rickon Cassel's, face. "I'm kidding! Force, you're so gullible."

Rickon was not laughing, but he did allow himself to stand within a reasonable distance of Luke. "It's not gullible when half these things you say are actually true!"

"The Force doesn't alter physical appearances, just someone's perception of it," Luke laughed, patting his stockier friend on the back. Rickon still looked ready to crap himself, and so Luke pulled out his datapad to use as a mirror. "See, your hair is not pink. Besides, if I wanted to dye your hair I wouldn't need to use the Force. I'd just do it while you're sleeping in Politics."

Rickon rolled his eyes, slapping Luke's chest with the datapad. "Mr. Binns is boring and naïve, but he's not stupid. I think he'd notice."

"Not if I used the Force to alter his perception," Luke teased, taking off at a run as Rickon tried to hit him. Luke was much smaller than his friend, and by no means faster, but Luke had the Force. When Rickon caught up, Luke simply jumped on the windowsill of a long abandoned apartment, and laughed at Rickon's annoyed face.

"You're insufferable!" Rickon called up, attempting to hide his grin. Luke noticed it though, and chuckled as he crawled down from the ledge. He was never quite as comfortable with going down as going up, so Luke hung down before dropping instead of just jumping.

When Luke's feet touched the ground, he was still facing the wall, and noticed the paint. Rubbing the grime with his sleeve, he revealed an orange rebel symbol.

There was a flash of light from behind Luke, and he turned quickly. A speeder was flying towards them, the pilot holding a holocam in one hand and steering with the other. "Halt rebels!"

"If we get arrested again I'm going to kill you," Rickon grumbled, putting his hands up and turning.

Luke rolled his eyes, and turned himself. He wanted to say that it had only been one time, but Jedi didn't lie. He and Rickon had actually gotten arrested at least a half dozen times over their four year friendship, and every single time it was Luke's fault. What could he say? The Force complicated life. "On the bright side, if you kill me my father won't be able to."

The speeder had drawn closer, but there was no stormtrooper inside. Just the pilot, his camera, and a sign that said **Coruscant Sentinel**. Luke suddenly decided that he'd have been better off getting arrested, because the media was far worse. The reporter was young, with bright green eyes and a haircut that showed his hopes for life. When he parked in the middle of the street and jumped out to greet them, Luke decided he really, really would have been better off getting arrested.

"Rebels in the Senate District, this is great!" He chimed, snapping another picture. "So what do you have to sa… wait, don't I know you?"

"No," Rickon, who'd been through this whole thing as many times as Luke, chimed in stepping in front of his friend. "Not unless you habit lower east end barbershops often."

Luke flashed Rickon a look; that was certainly the worst cover story ever. And his point was proven when the reporter's eyes went wide, "You're Lord Vader's son! Luke, right?"

"No, my name's Ben," Luke replied, his voice even and calm, but Rickon's eyes betrayed them and the reporter started to grin. "Fine, yes, I'm Luke, no I don't have any comments about whatever my father has done recently. No I'm not even sure what my father had done recently. Yes I think the Alliance is close to falling. No I've never seen my father without his mask…" Luke tried to think of the other common questions but none came. "Okay, Rickon, we're going."

The reporter grabbed Luke's shoulder, pulling the teen back. "Look you've got to give me something. My last celebrity piece fell through and this, this could save my career. Please, just a few questions."

Luke sighed, and faced the stubborn reporter. "Look, I would help you, but my father promised to kill the next person who posted something about me on the HoloNet. No career is worth that."

The teen expected the shock value of his statement to do the trick, but the reporter again grabbed Luke's shirt and pulled him back, forcefully. A part of Luke just wanted to draw on the Force to physically push the reporter away, but the teen knew that would be a bit overkill. Instead he took a deep breath, centering himself in the Force before waving his hand, "You value your life."

The reporter's hand dropped from Luke's shoulder, and he blinked, "I value my life."

"You will erase all your notes about this meeting, leave, and forget about it."

"I will erase all my notes about this meeting, leave, and forget about it," the reporter repeated, scratching Luke's generic answers off his pad, and climbing back into his speeder. The reporter hesitated for a moment, probably wondering why he was giving up so easily, but Luke gave him another subtle prod with the Force and the reporter disappeared quickly into the lanes of Coruscant traffic.

Luke grinned to himself and Rickon's dark eyes bulged, "I thought you said you couldn't do Jedi mind tricks."

"I couldn't… when you asked. But that was over a year ago. I can do a lot of things now I couldn't do then," Luke shrugged, rounding the corner towards his apartment. Republica500 loomed above him, the doorway separated only by a fence which Luke easily flipped over.

"You know I'm really glad you're my friend sometimes," Rickon grumbled, struggling his way over the fence. Even with his greater physical prowess, Rickon struggled to match Luke. He couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to go against Luke in a fight. Luke didn't see it of course; he was utterly oblivious to the power he held. For that Rickon was grateful. Luke was bold, but he wasn't arrogant. If Luke was arrogant they probably would get arrested twice as often.

"I just can't wait until my birthday so I can just fly us to and from school," Luke sighed. He was having more and more issues with the media as the Alliance got bolder and bolder. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, and the reporters all thought Luke should somehow know considering who his dad was. They had no clue that Luke and his father had agreed not ever to speak of the Alliance, as it only caused fights.

"You're just lucky your father has already bought you a speeder!" Rickon grumbled taking the long path to the apartment complex's door just so he could go and brush off the dust that had accumulated on the beautiful black airspeeder Luke's father had brought home the other day. "Mine still thinks it's too dangerous."

Luke chuckled, smiling at his speeder himself. It was a beautiful birthday present, even if Luke was questioning why his father had picked it up a week early. "Well our fathers just have different definitions of danger, that's all. When he was our age my father had a habit of jumping out of moving speeders, so he figures me piloting one to and from school isn't the worst idea."

"Your father told you he used to jump out of speeders?" Rickon sounded surprised, and for good reason. Luke had gone on many times about how his father refused to share any details of his past. For Vader to say something as casual as having jumped out of speeders would be very uncharacteristic.

Which was probably why Luke looked so guilty. "Luke, what did you do?"

The teen Jedi bit his lip, "Promise me you won't tell my father… or your father… or even Leah."

"I can guarantee you Leah already knows, she knows everything," Rickon reminded Luke, rolling his eyes. It was true too. The last member of their friend group was always too-well informed. "And I don't make a habit of talking to your father. I wouldn't even have agreed to watch this race if your father wasn't offworld."

That was true. Rickon had been known to consider jumping from the penthouse window over walking out the front door whenever Vader came home. His reluctance to speak to Luke's father was why the teen could tell him things. "Okay. I've been going to the Jedi temple on weekends."

"You've been doing what!" Rickon scream-whispered, looking around frantically for stormtroopers coming to arrest them. "Do you realize how illegal that is?"

Of course Luke knew it was illegal, but technically so was his father's Jedi training, which the Emperor himself sanctioned. "Well the Emperor wants me to be trained as a Jedi, and I figured that even my father can't know everything so I should go look in their archives. Well the Jedi Archives are the biggest thing I've ever seen, it would be impossible for me to read everything, so I figured out how to search for specific files. But I couldn't know that I was using the system correctly unless I searched for files that I knew existed so I searched my father's name, Anakin, not Vader and I got thousands of results! Apparently he had to submit a report for every single mission he went on, and they're all there. So I've been reading them."

Sometimes Luke did stupid things. Sometimes Luke did things that could get him killed. Sometimes Luke did things that had the potential to make whole star systems erupt into chaos. This was certainly the kind of action that fell into the last category.

And Rickon was so used to it he could just shrug it off, "I'm going to laugh at your funeral, you know that right? I'm just going to laugh."

Luke gently punched his friend, recovered his speeder, and moved towards the complex door. As he got closer to the building, Luke felt an overwhelming burst in the Force that could only have one source. "Rickon, I'm not so sure you're going to want to watch this swoop race on my projector."

"But your projector is twice the size of mine," Rickon reminded, keying in the code to the complex he'd memorized years ago. "Why would I ever not want to… oh, your father just got home, didn't he?" Rickon was a approaching six-feet and already filling out at 15, but he suddenly looked very terrified. "Yeah, I'm just going to catch a taxi so I can watch it at home."

"Sorry," Luke sighed, wishing his friends weren't so terrified of his father, but understanding why they were. No one was larger or scarier than Luke's father, at least not at first glance. "You can still come in. He doesn't hate you half as much as when we were kids."

"Does he still remember me breaking his priceless Sith artifact that I swear looked like a bug?"

"Yes."

"I'll watch the race at home," Rickon decided, slinging his bag back on his shoulder and letting the much smaller Luke pass under his arm and into the apartment complex. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Luke waved, watching his friend get into a taxi before heading up to his own apartment, greeting all the doormen and janitors he saw on the way. He didn't blame Rickon for wanting to go, but he just wished he hadn't. It's not like Luke's father was an unreasonable human being. Just because he remembered the shenanigans Rickon had been involved with didn't mean he disliked Rickon. Actually, Vader insisted that he very much liked Rickon, as 'Luke having all his limbs surely comes from Cassel's temperance.'

Why he seemed to think Luke was inclined to lose a limb without his friend being around, the teen had no idea. After all, Vader lost all his limbs because of his best friend, not despite him.

"Why do I have a feeling this night is only going to get worse?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Luke's night got worse.

As soon as the elevator brought him to his penthouse apartment, Luke could feel the pain radiating through the Force. It was almost overwhelming, like a cloud of darkness permeating every ounce of the house. Luke had never felt such pain in his life, and, when the elevator doors opened, he saw that it all resonated from his nanny, Nila.

"Nila, what's wrong?" he asked, moving to the woman's side. She looked at Luke, and he noticed her eyes were splotchy and red. She'd obviously been sobbing, but why?

"Oh Luke," she whispered, hugging the boy tight. He'd grown so much in the past four years, but he was still so very much the little boy who'd liked spaceships and the stars. "I'm so sorry."

For what? Luke looked around for answers, and noticed her room was all packed up. "You're leaving?" Luke asked, his voice cracking at the realization. No, Nila couldn't be leaving. "Did my father say something because I know he didn't mean it. He just has a horrible sense of humor."

Nila tried to laugh, but it got caught in a blubber, as she sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled Luke down besides her. "It's not your father. Your father's a good man he came to tell me himself… My son, my Adrian is… he's dead. There was a rebel attack at his base and…" She broke off, trying to fight back the tears, but Luke felt her pain anyways. It screamed through the Force. "He has a daughter… She already lost her mother and now this? It's just not right! It's just…"

"You have to go and take care of her," Luke nodded, trying to distinguish her heart wrenching pain from his own sadness of her leaving. He got why she had to leave, really Luke did, but it hurt. She was as close to a mother as Luke had. Every day for almost four years she'd cooked for him and helped him with homework. She'd even dared stand up to Vader on Luke's behalf, because she loved him. Luke knew she loved him, but Nila loved her family as well, and her granddaughter needed her more than Luke did. "I understand. And Nila I'm so, so sorry."

She nodded, trying to wipe her tears as she stood, but falling back a little bit. Nila was old, and this stress was doing her no good. Luke wished he could do something to help her, and managed to send out small tendrils of comfort through the Force.

Luke didn't know if she felt them, but Nila smiled a bit. "I'll visit. And if you ever need me I'm only a Com away. Okay?" She asked, brushing Luke's hair from his face like she used to do when he was little. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Luke replied, trying to hold back just how much he'd miss her from showing. If she knew she just might not have the strength to leave, and Nila didn't deserve that. "Now go."

She nodded, giving the boy one last hug as she disappeared out the door. Once she was out of sight, Luke let out his own choking sob he hadn't known he was holding back. What on Coruscant was he supposed to do without Nila?

"It's a sad thing to see her go." Luke was suddenly reminded of his father's presence as Nila's sadness disappeared with her. The teen tried to wipe away his tears before his father saw them, but Vader made no comment. To Vader, Luke was still a child, and children cried. For all intensive purposes Luke was losing his mother, and Anakin knew a thing or two about how that felt.

"But perhaps a good opportunity for you," Luke's father continued. "You're old enough now to be independent when I'm not around and C-3PO is smart enough to call for help should you set the apartment on fire."

Luke chuckled a bit, well aware that his father was trying to make him feel better at the expense of the little gold droid. "Yeah, and R2 knows how to control the sprinklers."

"Then it is settled, you do not need a new caretaker," Vader agreed, glad. It wasn't so much that he disliked having the woman around, but she coddled Luke. He was getting too powerful as a Force-user to act like a child, and having more responsibilities would help him grow into a responsible human being… hopefully. It hadn't exactly worked out when Obi-Wan tried it, but Padmé had been a queen at Luke's age, and he had some of her genes. Luke would be fine on his own, and if he was not… well when Vader promoted Captain Cassel to Admiral he'd asked the man to keep an even closer eye on Luke. If the teen got into trouble, at least his father would know quickly.

Vader's Comlink buzzed, and Luke set about attempting to make dinner. Nila had been teaching him how to cook… how difficult could it be?

Luke was trying to find the pans when his father screamed his name, "LUUUKE!"

The teen turned sheepishly, wondering how he'd already messed up. His father stood in the living room, shooting daggers at a datapad through his mask. Once Luke turned, his father flipped the pad up so he could see the image of himself standing next to the rebel symbol from earlier. The caption read: **Darth Vader's Son a Rebel Sympathizer.**

Oh Luke knew he was so screwed. The angle made it seem as if Luke had pained the symbol, and from the sheer anger radiating from Luke's father, he believed it as well. "Kriff," Luke muttered before realizing that that kind of language was only making his father angrier. "Look I didn't paint that."

"Then who in Malachor did? Cassel?"

"No, not Rickon!" Luke grumbled. He couldn't believe his father was angry at him! "It was already there. The damn reporter just made it look like I'd done it. Look, no spray-paint in sight. How am I supposed to have drawn it, with the Force?"

Vader studied the picture, and found Luke's words rung true. As quickly as it had bubbled up, the Sith's anger refocused, "Who was this 'reporter'?"

Luke wanted to bang his head against a wall. "No one, just, forget about it. People post trash on the HoloNet all the time no one is going to actually believe it. You're probably the only one who considered it a possibility for a second."

"For good reason. You do have a history of sympathizing with the rebels. Do you remember the first thing you said to me?"

Luke rolled his eyes; his father brought this up every time Luke said something vaguely anti-empire. (He didn't care if Luke said something against the Emperor, or even him, just the Empire itself.) "I told you I was going to be a rebel and kill you, I know. In my defense, I did think you'd killed my father."

"I recall. Now what can you tell me about this reporter."

Luke wasn't surprised his father wasn't going to just drop it, but he really didn't want to see the man killed. "Dad…"

"Father."

For the sake of the stupid reporter, Luke managed not to roll his eyes. "Father, please don't waste time and resources searching for the reporter. He's probably confused how he even got this holo anyways. I'm pretty sure I told him to forget seeing me."

Through his raging hate at the reporter a tendril of pride burst out for Luke. "You used a mind trick?"

"Yup, and it worked like a charm, so he's already had a bad enough day. Just leave it be, please?"

Luke could tell his father was considering it, but the lack of promise one way or another didn't give him much hope. He'd told the stupid reporter what his father was going to do. Why couldn't he have just listened?

"Fine, you go kill the man for attempting to do his job, and buy a food synthesizer while you're out, because I don't think C-3PO knows how to cook," Luke huffed, heading to his room and slamming the door. Quickly he realized that he'd basically just succeeded in sending himself to bed without dinner, and really, really, really wished his father hadn't come home a day early.

Meanwhile Vader found the reporter's name easily, and cast a final glance at Luke's room wondering if he'd been half as bad. If so, it was a wonder that Obi-Wan hadn't been the one to turn to the Dark Side first.

* * *

Luke found that those days he had his engineering elective first period were the best. There was just something about working on broken machines that made him calm, centered, in the way even meditation couldn't. There was a problem and a solution with machines, and Luke loved that.

Luke loved it enough that his foul mood from the previous night's events had dissipated by the time he found Rickon in Naboo class second period. "Hey, who won the race?"

"Syndulla," Rickon replied. "Why didn't you watch it? Don't tell me your father wouldn't let you because of that HoloNet thing."

Luke wanted to slam his head on the desk, but instead just rolled his eyes. "You saw that?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone saw it," Rickon muttered, offering Luke a sympathetic pat on the back. "The only reason everyone isn't talking about it is because they're talking about the new guy."

New guy? Luke looked around, but it appeared this new guy wasn't in Naboo class. If he was, he had the uncanny ability to look like the other kids Luke had been in class with for years. "Who is he?"

"Admiral Catrand's new step-son, but from the way he talks you'd think he was the Emperor himself. Honestly I only got him to shut up about Catrand's new Stardestroyer by reminding him that there would be no need for the_ Enterprise_ if the _Loyalty_ hadn't been torn to shreds by rebels."

Luke chuckled imagining that the haughty kid must have been horrified, then he realized that quite a few of his classmates were staring at the word 'rebel' and remembered the stupid reporter. Suddenly it wasn't so funny. "You didn't tell your dad that that's your hand in the corner of the photo, right?"

"Nah, but he probably guessed," Rickon shrugged not needing the Force to sense Luke's depression. "Your father angry?"

"More at the reporter than me. I just… Why does he insist on killing people?"

Rickon had no answer to that, how could he, so they were all grateful when the bell rung and Mrs. Soruna began speaking, "Now everyone has their permission slips and payment forms in, right? I'm passing around a packing list as I'm sure none of you have even begun planning for tomorrow night's trip."

Luke had completely forgotten about their overnight trip to Naboo, but the reminder lifted his spirits. He was going to get to see his mother's homeworld, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to know her beyond pictures on a datapad.

"Now I want to remind you all that this is an educational trip and to be on your best behavior… We wouldn't want any interplanetary disputes now would we?"

"Do you think that's a possibility?" Rickon whispered to Luke who just gave him that look. Considering that half their class had senators for parents yeah, an interplanetary dispute was definitely a possibility.

Not that daily lunchtime interactions at their school didn't cause those as well.

The day rolled by quickly, and by lunch everyone was talking about the new kid. Luke actually found it a bit disturbing, wondering if he'd been this talked about when he first arrived. It made him wonder if perhaps he should reach out to the new kid, offer him some friendly advice about who to ignore and who to respect.

Luke was so set on the idea that he immediately looked around the cafeteria for a new face, and didn't find one. No, no what he found instead was an old face, one he'd never expected to see again. "Bantha fodder," he muttered turning his head away and using his lunch tray as a sort of cover. It looked pretty ridiculous though, and didn't at all do the trick. Nope, it instead attracted the new guy's attention right at him.

"Luke?"

Luke wanted to crawl away and hide, but stood his ground. "Brandon."

Brandon looked exactly how Luke remembered him, scowl and all. When Luke had been at Vorus Detention center he and Brandon had been quick friends… until Brandon thought Luke was a rebel and completely disowned him. Luke found it ironic that the dark haired kleptomaniac found his way to Luke's new school the same day everyone was talking about that photograph. It was almost as if the Force was laughing at Luke. (Which, considering history, it probably was.)

"You know each other?" Rickon whispered, looking between the two boys who were eyeing each other. Luke was pretty calm, but then again Luke was always calm. Brandon on the other hand… he looked ready to kill someone. "How do you two know each other?"

Luke would have answered Rickon honestly, but Brandon spoke to Luke first. "I can't believe they'd let you in anywhere with the Emperor's name, Rebel scum. Actually, I can't believe you're alive. Last I remember you were getting called out of class to have some face-to-face time with Lord Vader."

It hadn't crossed Luke's mind until that very moment that Brandon didn't know, and suddenly the teen Jedi wasn't frightened at all. So Brandon was a not-so-great part of Luke's past. The past was the past, and Luke had dirt on Brandon too.

No one else knew that though. A crowd of military kids had formed around the pair, and only one of the nicer girls, Nil, had the brains to ask the question everyone was wondering. "Why would Vader kill Luke?"

"Because he's a rebel?" Brandon seemed to think he was revealing Luke's darkest secret, but everyone just laughed. "What? Why are you laughing? Luke was arrested for being a rebel."

Jes, the only other person whose father was an Admiral, let out an awkward laugh, "I saw the picture of you on the HoloNet last night and thought the reporter was an idiot. Does this happen to you a lot?"

"Yeah, I've been arrested for being a rebel… probably three times?" Luke laughed, trying not to derive pleasure from the fire burning inside Brandon. "My father calls me one on a daily basis."

Brandon was steaming, fully aware of there being something he didn't know, and still attempting to gain the higher ground. "What are you even talking about? Your father is dead, you told me that years ago."

"His father is Lord Vader," Leah was sitting at their usual table in the corner, laughing hysterically at the crowd gathered around her friend. Luke hadn't even noticed here there, munching away at her sandwich as everyone else scrambled, but that didn't surprise him. That was just Leah's way.

"What? No he isn't. Luke's a rebel orphan from Tatooine."

"I mean I'm from Tatooine, but Leah is telling the truth," Luke told his once-friend with a shrug. He sort of felt bad for Brandon, who was obviously embarrassed, but at the same time he deserved it for being so nasty. "If it makes you feel better I didn't know last time we saw you. I found out… well that day I left I guess."

Brandon's face was bright red, and his mouth hung open as he slowly backed away, taking the crowd with him. Once they were all gone, Leah began laughing again, and Luke slapped her gently on the back of the head. "I feel bad. He really had no way of knowing."

"He was being obnoxious," Leah pointed out, not at all feeling the remorse Luke's compassion brought about. It wasn't that Leah was heartless so much as she didn't waste time feeling bad for people who brought stuff upon themselves. "He was trying to make everyone hate you."

Luke looked around, pointing to all the empty seats at the table occupied only by himself, Leah, and Rickon. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't have to say anything to do that."

"Everyone doesn't hate you… they just don't exactly know how to interact with you. You are kind of weird," Rickon reminded, waving his hand in something that was probably supposed to look like a Jedi mind trick. "But if it makes you feel better everyone is definitely too scared of you to hate you."

"Oh yeah, that definitely makes me feel better."

* * *

"Luke! Less height!" Couch Dug called out for probably the twelfth time. It was the first gymnastics practice of the season, and they were running through last year's routines, trying to figure out what to keep and what to toss out. Luke's whole routine was all over the place, because he's simply grown so much in the last year. "Stop, just stop."

Luke finished the flip, the floor shuttering under the force of his landing. A couple of the girls who were supposed to be spotting each other on the bars laughed, and Luke's face was red not from exertion. "I'm sorry Coach I just…"

"Need to tell your father that you have absolutely no control? Yeah I'm getting that. Just try not to use, well you know, or just go wear yourself out on the high bar. And I need to talk to you after practice, okay? It's important."

Luke nodded, scuttling away as Coach Dug went to go watch the girls. He had no idea why he was so out of control. Sure, his powers were growing, but he wasn't even trying to use the Force, actually he was trying not to. (It always felt a bit like cheating when Luke used the Force.)

It appeared the frustrations were due to just keep growing, and Luke didn't even have the patience to pretend he needed a spring board or chair to get up onto the high bar. He just jumped up ignoring the looks everyone gave him. Couch Dug was right; Luke needed to burn off some steam. Using the Force to hurl himself around the bar had an immediate calming effect similar to mechanics. When Luke dropped down, his body was drenched in sweat, and his hands chaffing, but he felt a lot better and could stick the landing instead of jumping forward a foot from excess energy.

"That's enough for today," Couch Dug called out, staring right at Luke. Oops, apparently he'd been attracting attention from more than just the rookie girls who'd never seen him in action before. "Luke."

With his energy gone, Luke sulked over to the coach, helping him fold up the mats as the girls left. Once they were alone, Dug nodded, and Luke used to Force to quickly stack everything up. "You've gotten more powerful."

"It's like…" Dug had a fascination with the Force, and was one of the few people who dared ask Luke about it. The teen never knew how to describe it though. "It's like a well, but it's not just around me anymore, it's coming from within me. I'm trying to control it, I swear but it's just been a rough couple of days."

Dug nodded, sitting down on the mats and motioning for Luke to do the same. "Luke I'm not really worried about your Force powers making you jump too high, you'll figure it out. I'm just worried because…Luke, I know your situation is very unique, and I know it's hard for you sometimes. And I know your father can be a hard man to get along with. It's natural at your age to try and get back at your father, I know I did it, but you are in a precarious situation… I'll just be honest. The Coruscant Youth Gymnastics Council contacted me today with concerns about your behavior. Now you know that the CYGC has strict anti-rebel rules in place. They agreed to let you off with just a warning because of the situation but…"

Luke began to laugh, all the anxiety and stress of the past few days bubbling over to make him slightly hysterical. "This is about that stupid HoloNet thing? By the Force does no one stop to think about the fact that I had no paint? I didn't draw it."

Dug blushed, "I'm sorry Luke I shouldn't have assumed. I know you're not a rebel and just figured… Well I thought you were trying to upset your father."

"Trust me, I don't need to go draw rebel symbols to upset my father. The Force just leads me into trouble occasionally, or well a lot."

"Just try to keep out of the HoloNet, I want you to be able to compete."

Luke nodded, but he really wasn't worried. He doubted that photographer was still alive, and his peers would certainly get the message- Luke Skywalker was off limits.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Luke's father was already meditating in their gym when the boy got home and plopped down. The teen was steaming in annoyance, frustration and anger, making the Dark Side mill about. Vader was not particularly concerned when Luke touched the Dark side, not in the way most would be, but it was odd. Luke was normally astoundingly good at controlling his emotions. Vader wasn't even sure he'd be able to turn Luke when the time came; his son was normally too good at keeping calm. "What is wrong?

"I have mounds of Homework, the Force is ruining my floor routine, everyone I know things I painted that Rebel thing just to bother you, you probably killed that reporter, I haven't even started packing, and I can't even ask Nila where everything is because she's gone."

Of all the things Luke vented about, it was only the second to last bit that Vader clung to, "Pack? Where are you going?"

That question, of course, served only to annoy Luke further, and the teen stood, giving upon the possibility of meditation. "Naboo dad, I'm going on an overnight trip to Naboo for culture class. You were offworld when I told you, so Nila signed the permission form."

Ah, that explained it. After all, Vader knew he'd never had agreed to this trip should Luke actually have held his attention while asking. Of course, he knew he could still forbid his son from going, but that was not a fight he wanted to have. Plus, he'd signed Luke up for Naboo culture to give him a taste of his mother, and Luke could never know his mother without seeing her home.

So, he settled on the simple answer while rising himself, "I saw C-3PO putting your clothes in your closet, but if you're looking for anything black I would check my chambers. That droid never seems to follow it's housework programming correctly."

"Or maybe his creator just didn't wire a few things correctly," Luke muttered, smiling to himself. He had known for years that the Maker 3PO constantly thanked was his father, but his father did not appear to know that Luke knew. Therefore the boy could get away with lots of comments about 3PO's creator, and couldn't even be punished for them. It was a great stress release.

Plus, as much as Vader pretended to be annoyed by such comments, he wasn't really. "Just go do your work and pack, we can attempt to assess why the Force is 'ruining' your gymnastics after you return." Luke was grateful to be let out of training, as he really did have far too much to do. Just as he was about to leave his father called out, "Oh, and Luke, if you should find yourself in any of Naboo's meadows, pick some leia flowers. Your mother told me once that they were quite valuable."

Luke stared at his father for a minute, wondering where in the galaxy that information sprung from, but he had too much to do to dwell on it. He just stored the information in the back of his mind, and went to pack.

* * *

Field trips were fun, until Luke had to be at their transport ship by o-five-hundred. Utterly exhausted, he climbed into the ship and found a chair by the window where he could at least meditate. The other students had surely had a cup of caf from the way they chattered, but Vader didn't permit Luke to have it. "If you need energy, call on the Force" was his motto, and Luke had no choice but to try it.

The annoying thing about parents is how often they are right. By the time they were in hyperspace Luke had all the energy he needed, and everyone else had begun to pass out. Everyone but Leah that was, who sat with a Databook in hand like always. In four years Luke had never seen her without a book, and he honestly wondered how she had yet to run out of things to read. Luke could barely get through what he had to for class, never mind add on reading for pleasure. But then Luke didn't know everything in the galaxy, and Leah seemed to, so perhaps reading paid off.

"What is that about?"

Leah's eyes didn't flicker up as Luke moved next to her. She simply spoke while continuing to read, "Imperial trade routes through Hutt controlled territory. You'd love it, it mentions Tatooine."

Luke wondered if it also mentioned his father, recalling a certain mission report during the Clone Wars that involved a baby Hutt and a similar problem. Reading his mind as always, Leah flipped to the beginning, and showed Luke the passage.

**"** **Such trade routes build upon those formed by the Republic during the Clone Wars. The Outer Rim was originally a bed of crime and slavery, but the work of then-Chancellor Palpatine and the once-loyal Jedi ensured that Republic ships could pass. These war-time routes eventually gave way to Imperial control throughout Hutt territory."**

Luke was always amazed by how authors could tint things in favor of the Empire."Why do I feel like that is a vast oversimplification and the truth involved a lot more violence?"

"Because you, my friend, have a brain in your head," Leah chuckled, going back to her page. Luke didn't even know that to say to that genial acceptance of treason. Granted, Leah was about as respectful to the Empire as Luke, perhaps less so, but she normally didn't make comments like that when there were teachers around.

But the teachers were drifting same as the students, and so Leah wasn't afraid to speak freely. Still, her ability to do so confused Luke, because he realized why she seemed so out of place. "Wait, you're not in Naboo class. Why are you here?"

  
Leah stopped a timer on her chrono, "Congratulations, it took you less than an hour to figure out. I bet it will take another three before anyone else does." It was a fair bet; no one ever seemed to pay attention to Leah. She simply wasn't important enough for them, but it was their loss. Rickon and Luke were well aware of the fact that being friends with Leah meant having knowledge, and knowledge was power. Leah was probably the most powerful kid at school, even if her mother was just a maid.

"Your mom is from Naboo, right? Does it have something to do with that?" Luke probed a minute later after realizing Leah had gone back to reading without answering his question. She'd do that sometimes, refuse to answer a question before he offered the first part of the answer. It was actually something Luke's father did as well, but Luke didn't like to consider the similarities between his Sith father and his friend.

Apparently he'd gotten enough right though to win her attention, because Leah actually shut the book instead of just looking away. "Ding, ding, ding. It's where both my parents are from, but because of my mom's banishment, I've never been, so the school let me come with you."

"Wait, banishment?" Luke's mind reeled over the words. Why would Leah's maid mother end up banished? And since when did Leah ever speak of her father?

The girl raised her chocolate eyebrows, and gave Luke an amused grin. "You're surprised that my mother is more than she seems after knowing me for four years?" Okay, when she said it like that… Yeah, Leah had a way of making Luke feel dumb. "Before I was born my mother worked for Naboo's senator and was banished for espionage. Actually, it was your mother she worked for."

"Oh," Luke didn't know what to say to that. Why was it that Leah always said things that left Luke with nothing to say? "Um. Sorry? Is that why your mom always gives me that look, because of what my mother did?"

Leah laughed, flipping her hair ever so gently that Luke doubted she even noticed. "Force no. She gives you that look because of your father, not your mother. No, it's really not that big a deal. She was spying on your mother and telling Palpatine everything. Where she went… who came into her apartment… what size dress Padmé was wearing…"

Luke stared. He'd known Leah for four years and the girl had never thought to mention this? "Your mother told Palpatine about my father and me, didn't she?"

"And he set her up at the palace as a live-in maid to thank her. Good thing too, because I came along seven months later and would hate to have been raised homeless."

Leah existed on a plane of reality Luke could never understand. How she could just be so chill about such insane things he would never understand. But she honestly did not care that his mother was the reason she'd almost been born homeless. It wasn't just a farce. Luke could feel the sincerity of her nonchalance in the Force. She truly didn't care. Kriff if she wouldn't make a good Jedi. Talk about letting go of all emotion.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone re-awoke, and the ship grew a lot louder. Leah was onto her second book, and reading it far too intently for Luke to dare interrupt again, so he was glad when Rickon sat up, blinking his eyes. "What did I miss?"

"Your father showed up and paid the pilot to sell you to pirates when we get to Naboo."

Rickon rolled his eyes, punching Luke hard enough for it to actually hurt. Luke just laughed though, rubbing his arm because, well, he deserved it. "Nah, actually I just found out that my mom knew, and banished Leah's mom because Leah's mom told Palpatine about my mom being pregnant."

"I shouldn't be surprised, but I feel like this might be a whole new level of insane coincidences, even for you."

Luke chuckled. What was his life but a series of insane coincidences? "Tell me about it."

Rickon looked ready to, but they were interrupted by Nil walking back to where they sat. "Hey, so, um, Luke, I hate to ask because I know you do gymnastics and that season just started but this would be during school so it wouldn't interfere and..." the eternally-nervous teen broke off for a minute to catch her breath before handing Luke a pile of papers. "Well putting on a play for Empire Day, and I was hoping you'd be willing to play your father. It's sort of a tradition for people to play their parents."

Luke stared down at the papers, the script, in his lap. It appeared to be little more than a short skit, and one he vaguely remembered from years past. "I would, but I'm not actually going to be on Coruscant for Empire Day."

"Well actually it's the Friday before so…"

So it appeared Luke didn't have a viable excuse, and it actually might be fun. Still, it was probably a really bad idea. His father would probably not appreciate Luke dawning the mask for a school play. But then again his father wouldn't have to know…

"You should do it," Leah apparently wasn't as into her book as Luke had assumed, because she was eavesdropping. She looked up at Luke, a mischievous light in her eyes that assured Luke that this was a very, very, very bad decision. Whenever Leah thought someone should do something, it was usually because she was looking forward to laughing at the consequences.

Rickon knew that too, which was why he was giving Luke that look, the look that was probably what Vader referred to when saying Rickon was Luke's temperance. Still, Luke felt a bit too stifled sometimes. What was the harm in agreeing to do a stupid skit? His father didn't need to know, and it was for the benefit of the Empire. Surely Vader couldn't argue about that?

Of course he could, but Luke convinced himself otherwise while telling Nil, "Sure."

The girl walked away, clearly pleased, and Rickon just rolled his eyes. "I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'm going to laugh at your funeral." Now it was Luke's turn to hit Rickon. "Hey! Anyways, what's this about not being around on Empire Day? It's like the one fun day to live on Imperial Center."

It was always so weird for Luke to hear Coruscant called by its official name, especially when Luke knew as a fact that the Emperor usually called it Coruscant. Still, Admiral Cassel was a respectful guy, and Rickon picked up a lot of his dad's quirks. Luke wasn't sure if he wanted to know whether or not he'd picked up any of his father's quirks. "I'm going to Tatooine for a week. I haven't seen my Aunt and Uncle in years, and my father finally agreed."

"A week? But your birthday is only two days after Empire Day. Doesn't your father want to spend that with you?"

Luke normally didn't think much about how odd his family life was, but sometimes the comments Rickon made stung. Sometimes Luke was reminded of just how many things he missed out on because of his father. It wasn't so much that Luke blamed him, because he understood, but it made the teen sad. "Well even the couple times we've both been on Coruscant for my birthday he hasn't really spent time with me… He usually spends the entire trinity of days stewing in his hatred."

"Well on the first day he killed everyone he knew, on the second his best friend left him to burn to death on Mustafar, and on the third his wife died. I wouldn't like to celebrate those days either," Leah muttered, and Luke found himself in agreement. He couldn't blame his father for hating the days, Luke did too. How could he really celebrate his birthday knowing it was also the day his mother died, the day his father killed his mother. (Okay, to be fair, Luke didn't actually know for sure what killed his mother. Both Kenobi and Palpatine blamed Vader, and he didn't deny it, but Luke didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it.)

"Exactly, I don't celebrate my birthday, never have, but going back to Tatooine and seeing everyone there will be a nice treat. Force, I wonder what Biggs knows! Last time I saw him was before I was arrested… Do you think my aunt and uncle told him the truth?"

Luke doubted it. Most likely his aunt and uncle didn't want anyone to know their relation to Vader. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing that would make them popular among moisture farmers. No, Biggs probably knew nothing, because it wasn't like he kept up with the HoloNet. Tatooine barely even had HoloNet access, which was probably good. Luke would enjoy a week as just a normal teen and not Lord Vader's son. He loved his father, but it could all be a bit much.

"Whatever, get me some souvenir sand or something."

Luke chuckled, "Oh no, my father threatened me with meditation for a month if I brought back even a speck of sand. He hates it more than he hates Jedi. I'll bring you back some broken vaporators though."

"Oh, for joy," Rickon chuckled, and the trio laughed at his horrified look. Yeah, Luke was really glad for this field trip. They hadn't even arrived on Naboo yet and it had been plenty eventful, but it was good. Yeah, it was good.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Luke's first glimpse of Theed knocked him off his feet. The city was extraordinary, with huge white domes and glistening streets. Coruscant was a pinnacle of industrial beauty, but Theed was a different kind of city. It was a city of marvels. A city of light.

Seeing this place, Luke began to understand his mother. She dedicated her life to the galaxy, yes, but her heart belonged to her people, her home. No wonder she was said to have been so good. Anyone filled with the light of this place could not be dark.

Their first stop was the palace, where they were scheduled to hear a talk by former Senator Jar-Jar Binks. Luke didn't know much about the former Senator, except that he was a Gungan, and therefore the talk would probably be painful to understand. Gungans spoke Basic with an odd accent, and a whole speech of it was probably enough to drive anyone nuts.

But Luke didn't care. He was going to the palace, the royal palace, where his mother lived and worked for eight years. Surely there was no other place where Luke could better learn about his mother. She was said to have carried the crown with her even after leaving the palace; perhaps the Palace still carried her even after she left the galaxy.

The palace was beautiful, and Luke wasn't the only one in the class to walk through it with his eyes up. The domes were brilliant and bright. The walls crisp and decorated in ornate fashion. Not even the Imperial Palace was so beautiful. Palpatine's home was as dark and corrupted as the man himself.

The chaperones ushered them into the room signed "Department of Education" and Luke took a seat in the back. Former Senator Binks looked ridiculous to Luke, even by Gungan standards. His ears flopped every which way, and the rich fabrics he wore seemed ill-fitted. He was goofy looking, and didn't seem to carry himself the way senators normally did. Luke vaguely wondered if his father had liked Senator Binks, as he tended to like those who weren't traditional senators.

"Welcome Younglings. Isa so nice to meet yousa. Missa muy muy honor to greet yousa here on Naboo." The Gungan began, stopping only when a door behind him opened. A young woman, probably in her early twenties, poked her head in, and smiled upon seeing the students. Binks got very excited at the sight of her, "Isa Senator Naberrie!"

"Hello," the senator greeted, stepping into the room with a smile. She was quite beautiful, with silky brown hair pulled up in an elaborate braid. "I don't have much time, but when I heard who we had visiting I had to stop in. I know many of your parents through my work in the Senate. I wish I could stay, but I'm actually heading back to Coruscant now. I hope you all enjoy your trip," she finished before ducking out the door in the back of the room.

"Pooja is muy talent. Missa known her since she was a litta bitty girl. Missa jobbin with her Aunt Padmé."

Luke's head popped up at the words. Padmé? A former Senator who'd worked with a Padmé, probably in the senate. Binks knew his mother! And this woman… if her aunt was Padmé then…

Luke jumped to his feet, startling Rickon. "Where you going?"

All of the chaperones were properly focused on Senator Binks, so Luke whispered, "I have to talk to that Senator."

"Why in Sith Hell do you need to talk to a Senator?" Rickon asked, trying to pull Luke back to his seat before they both got in trouble.

Luke pulled away though, and stood to creep out the door before he answered, "Because I think she's my cousin!"

Rickon had nothing to say to that, and Luke slipped out the door after Senator Naberrie. She obviously walked with a purpose, because by the time Luke got into the hallway she had already gotten to the other end. "Wait!" the teen called out impulsively, the hallways echoing his voice. Senator Naberrie stopped, and Luke ran to catch up to her. "I'm sorry but I have to speak with you."

"I really have to go," Pooja told him, not sounding unkind but visibly annoyed as she began walking again. "You can make an appointment with me on Coruscant."

Luke did not want to wait the two days until he was back on Coruscant, not when he was so close. "It's about your Aunt Padmé!" he told her walking with her. If she had to get to her ship Luke would just walk with her.

But Pooja stopped at the mention of Padmé, and just looked at him. "What about my Aunt?"

She was nervous, visibly so, and Luke could understand why. His Aunt was somewhat of a legend, and yet she did not go by the name Amidala to booster her own career. Perhaps this was just a need to define herself, or perhaps Pooja was worried about the fact that Luke knew she was related to the woman whose Delegation of 2000 went on to form the Alliance. She had reasons to be nervous, but Luke sent out tendrils of calm through the Force. "Your Aunt is Padmé Amidala, right?"

"Was, she's dead, has been since before you were born. I really need to..."

"Not since before I was born," Luke cut her off, his blue eyes boring into her. He could sense she recognized him, even if only on a subconscious level. Clearly she had met his father as well. "Your Aunt died the day I was born. She…"

Luke looked at her and saw real fear not even his Force-reassurance could abate. She was late, and she was scared, and so was Luke. How could he just tell this woman he was her cousin? How do you tell someone that their Aunt was secretly married to a Jedi who'd then become a Sith? Luke didn't know, and suddenly he was scared to.

"She knew my father, Anakin Skywalker." Luke cursed himself for saying it, for not saying what he wanted to, but he just couldn't. "I'm Luke."

Pooja relaxed slightly, but still nodded tensely. "Yes, I met him a few times myself. They were good… friends. Sorry, I'm just surprised. Jedi weren't supposed to have kids and I was told your father died when the Jedi tried to overthrow the Republic."

"He did," Luke hated lying to her, but it was true in a certain sense. Plus, it was easier for her to know the lie then the truth.

Obviously, or she wouldn't have been smiling when she spoke again, "Come by my office when you get back to Coruscant, I might be able to tell you more about him. As I said, he and my Aunt were very close so I met him a few times."

Luke nodded, glad to see her leave now that he'd hidden the truth. Still, Pooja was no fool, and she'd been young when she saw Anakin with Padmé. There are few truths you can hide from younglings. She was almost to the palace doors when she stopped, understanding and fear competing for a place in her mind. "My aunt died _the day_ you were born?"

The teen nodded, before regretting his actions and running back to the lecture hall, hoping not to hear the Senator call after him. He got his wish, and yet Luke knew it was not over. She would be wanting to know more all because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Nice job Skywalker, nice job," Luke chastised himself, slipping back into the room just as everyone was splitting up into pairs to explore the Palace grounds. Rickon spotted him and they paired up immediately. Luke felt a bit bad about leaving Leah to have to find another partner, but he knew the girl wouldn't mind. Nothing bothered Leah.

"Did you talk to her?" Rickon asked as the pairs broke up to explore the city. Luke and Rickon headed out the palace doors, wandering aimlessly, as neither had listened when the suggested sights had been pointed out.

Besides, Luke was too busy thinking about the mess he'd made to really care where he was walking. "Yeah. I was going to tell her, then I didn't, and she figured it out anyways."

Rickon nodded in understanding, and was kind enough not to say 'I told you so.' Still the words weighed on Luke's mind. He'd known it probably wasn't a good idea to reveal himself to Pooja, not considering who his father had become, but he'd been impulsive. She knew his mother and would actually talk about her. Luke just wanted to know.

* * *

Rickon and Luke explored Theed for a while longer, picking up souvenirs at this little market stall. Rickon got a Naboo ship replica, but Luke found himself picking up a little doll. She was dressed up like a queen, with elaborate makeup and headdress, but Luke still recognized the subtle differences between this queen and all the others around this. "This is Queen Amidala, right?"

The vendor nodded, smiling, "Yes. Even after all these years she's still our most popular doll. I'm sure your sister will love it."

Luke almost commented that he didn't have a sister, before deciding it was best to let the woman think that and not question why a teenage boy would want a little doll. Still, it was his mother, and a way for Luke to have her with him once he returned to Coruscant. He'd just need to hide her from his father, because he surely wouldn't stand having the reminder of his dead wife around.

"You know the anniversary of her death is coming up," the vendor chatted. "Do you go to the memorial? It gets smaller every year, but it's still beautiful."

Luke was amazed that after so long people cared enough at all to hold a memorial. His mother must truly have been loved. "No, I'm not from Naboo. I'm only here on a school trip."

"Too bad. It's quite a sight to see. Her family is well off and they always lace her grave with flowers…"

"Her grave?" Luke interrupted blinking quickly. "Wait, she wasn't burned?"

The vender shook her head, "No, Naboo tradition forbids it. She's buried behind the palace with the other former queens."

Throughout the galaxy the dead were cremated, so Luke had just always assumed his mother was as well. But no. She had a grave. He could go visit her grave. "Do you know if there is anywhere around here that sells flowers. Maybe leias?"

"Well there is a shop right outside the cemetery, but leias are very expensive. Naboo moon blossoms are just as beautiful and much cheaper. I'm sure your lucky lady will like those a lot."

Perhaps if Luke had a girlfriend, but his father had said his mother loved leias. Now Luke knew why. His father actually wanted Luke to visit his mother's grave; surely he wanted Luke to buy the flowers as well. Thanking the vender, Luke grabbed Rickon's arm and dragged him towards the cemetery, not answering his friend's questions. Once there, Luke stopped quickly, and Rickon understood.

"Your mother is buried here, isn't she?"

Luke nodded, but said nothing as he moved into the shop to find the flowers. There were none out, but he found the shop owner to ask. The owner looked surprised, wondering probably how a teen could afford the flowers, but said nothing as he went back to grab them.

"You're lucky I just got some in today. They only grow up in the lake region, and that's all private estate. Sometimes though one of the families will allow us to collect them to sell. I think these came from Varykino."

The name meant nothing to Luke. He had no idea that these flowers grew in the field by his mother's lake home. He didn't know that, in another life, he would have grown up picking these expensive flowers on a whim to give to his mother and sister. Luke didn't know the life he was missing out on as he bought the flowers and moved into the cemetery. There was no way he could.

Like all things in Theed, the cemetery was luxuriously beautiful. Huge monoliths, stone statues, and mausoleums covered the carefully maintained grounds. All the graves were covered in some sort of flower, some withered and dying, some fresh and new. A few people, tourists from the lack of mourning on their faces, wandered about, but Luke hardly noticed them. He walked down the rows aware of Rickon giving him space, and grateful for it. Especially when he finally found it.

It was one of the less fancy mausoleums actually, with few flowers. Someone had put some mountain daisies around within the past few days, and moon lilies grew on either side, but besides that it was bare. Upon tracing the name with his finger, Luke fell to the ground, tears bright in his eyes. His mother was in there, dead, decaying, cut off from him. Yet she was there. This was the closest Luke had been to his mom since he left her womb.

"Hi mom," he whispered, voice cracking. "You don't know me, but it's me, Luke. I wish… I wish I knew you. I wish you had been there, to tuck me in, to kiss my scraped knees. Even though you weren't I… I love you and I miss you. I just wish you could know. I'm with dad though, and we're a family, if an odd one. There's good in him mom, I know it. I know you knew it too even if… even if he may have been the one to ki… hurt you. I trust him, I really do. And I love him just like you did. I just wish… I wish you could know."

Luke gently placed the flowers on the grave, and as he did felt the Force's calm come over him. It felt like being wrapped in a warm hug, and Luke basked in it, imagining for a moment it was his mother.

"There is no death, there is the Force."

The voice was so whispered, so soft, that it startled Luke. He wondered for a second if he had imagined it, especially when Rickon didn't seem to notice anything, until he heard it again.

"You cannot see those whose spirit the Force has taken, but that does not mean they are not there."

Panic spiked within Luke when he realized that he recognized the voice. But that… that wasn't possible. He was dead. He'd been dead for years. "Ben?"

Luke didn't hear the old man again, but he caught a glimpse of blue from the corner of his eye. Turning quickly Luke could just make out the image of the dead Jedi before it disappeared into nothingness.

_Great, now I'm being stalked by the ghost of my father's arch nemesis. This couldn't possibly get wors_e, Luke thought, and yet, yet Ben's words made Luke feel better. Perhaps it had been a hug from his mother Luke felt.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They returned to Coruscant early the next day, and kindly enough did not have to attend classes. Luke made his way home alone lost in his thoughts. How could Obi-Wan possibly have become a ghost? Luke didn't think there was such a thing as ghosts, and yet he could have sworn that Ben, dead Ben, was there. It simply made no sense.

_No,_ the boy decided, _it doesn't make sense because it wasn't real. My eyes were blurry from crying and that's that._ It was much easier to believe that it was just a figment of his imagination, or even that he was going insane, than it was to believe that after all these years he was being haunted by Ben Kenobi. (Because if all those Luke had accidentally gotten killed haunted him Luke would constantly be surrounded.)

Firm in his decision, Luke made his way home to find it empty. He was surprised, not even when he saw the note saying his father would be gone for at least a week and would see him when Luke got back from Tatooine. Still, as he cooked dinner and C-3PO dictated bedtimes and such Luke suddenly was not so sure this 'freedom' thing was much fun.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the silence, Luke barely got any sleep that night. When he dragged himself into school the next day he was fifteen minutes late and looked like he'd been run over by a speeder. In fact he actually debated telling the secretary that he had been run over by a speeder, but figured that then his father would rush back to Coruscant and they'd both be in a world of trouble. So, Luke settled on the truth and won himself a detention. Of course now he'd be late for gymnastics, which would make Couch Dug angry again, so the day was just off to a brilliant start.

And he had history first period, which was always painful, but especially painful in this case because when Luke walked in the word Jedi was up on the board.

"Ah, Luke, I'm glad you made it," his teacher, Mr. Blue, greeted as Luke handed him the tardy pass. Rickon and Leah sat in the back, both offering Luke a questioning look, but since kriffing Brandon was in Luke's usual seat he had to sit in the very front.

"I was just explaining how after the Sith Wars the Jedi were left unchecked," Mr. Blue explained, looking quite a bit nervous. Luke didn't blame him either. It had to be awkward teaching about Jedi, but to teach it to the son of a Sith who rumor had it was being trained as a Jedi… well that had to be very awkward.

Still, Mr. Blue charged on. "The Jedi grew in power within the Republic. Most of their deeds were good. They managed to keep the galaxy from war, keep what appeared to be peace, but it was really a lie. In fact the Jedi drafted laws that allowed them to take any Force-Sensitive child from his or her parents without their permission. They allowed slavery to spread across the galaxy. The Jedi sat there encouraging the Republic to squabble and fight. Then it got worse. The Jedi order became corrupt just as the Senate was. They began to arrange themselves to gain more power. They were ruthless in the Clone Wars, sacrificing civilians and clones without a second thought.

"Now during the Clone Wars there were two Jedi- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin... " She paused, looking nervously at Luke. "Well, Anakin Skywalker. They were renowned throughout the galaxy for their skill in combat and negotiation. When then-Chancellor Palpatine was kidnapped by Separatist leader Count Dooku, they went to retrieve him. But the Jedi sought to use Skywalker, and they ordered him to spy on our good and noble emperor. This only proved Chancellor Palpatine's fears that the Jedi sought to overthrow him and take over the Republic. So Chancellor Palpatine asked Skywalker to return to the temple and try to find more evidence, and the loyal Jedi did so. But the Jedi were far crueler than anyone knew, and they killed Skywalker when he returned to the temple. From there the Jedi marched on the Chancellor's office, where, as you know from your earlier school years, they were defeated by the Clones and Darth Vader. The Chancellor took over as Emperor that day, and dedicated himself to eliminating the sick corruption that plagued the senate and Jedi order. Now, that's a story you all know, but what we're going to analyze today is _why_ this happened. History tells us the Jedi Order truly was good for thousands of years, but what happened to make them turn? Now, the first evidence is actually as old as the Order- the Jedi code. Now this goes 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Thee is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is nothing but the Order.' Now you can see the mindset that… Yes Luke?'

Luke barely even realized his hand had shot up, but now that he'd been called upon the teen had something to say. "You're wrong."

Mr. Blue was generally relaxed and amiable, but even he seemed angered by Luke's blunt comment. "Excuse me?"

"I mean that uh, that's not the code," Luke attempted to correct himself, face blushing red. He hadn't meant to come off as so cross but it had been a long morning. "The last line is wrong. It's "there is no death, there is the Force."

Mr. Blue rubbed his neck awardly, and turned back towards the board, away from Luke, as he spoke, "Perhaps that's how the Sith say it but the Jedi…"

"The Sith don't say the Jedi code. That would be ridiculous," Luke interrupted, unsure himself where this was coming from. Why did he care if they all thought the Jedi were horrible? They had been horrible! They forbade love; they stole Luke from his father; they would have taken control of the Republic. Why did Luke feel the need to defend them? Sure, he'd been training like a Jedi for years but all to become a Sith eventually. He was supposed to hate the Jedi, so why would he defend them?

Yet Luke couldn't help himself, and carried on despite the ire in Mr. Blue's eyes. "Besides, the last line you said makes no sense. It doesn't fit the pattern!"

It seemed like a logical argument, and the students around Luke were nodding. None of them knew either way, but they could easily see Luke Skywalker knowing more about the Jedi than Mr. Blue. After all, Luke's father was dedicated to the task of destroying all Jedi; know thy enemy, right? And if Vader knew the true code it would make sense for Luke to as well….

"That's enough Luke," Mr. Blue told the teen, thoroughly aware of the dangerous waters they had crossed into. The class could not start getting the idea that perhaps their textbook was wrong. This was the imperially ascribed Empire Week curriculum for their age group. This was what they would learn. "History tells us that that is how the code went. Now, as I was saying the philosophy behind this debated last line is apparent. The Jedi cared about nothing but themselves and their order by the end. When they saw the Clone Wars were coming to an end, when they saw that they would lose their power and have to stand trial for all their wartime actions, they panicked. The Jedi Council claimed that Chancellor Palpatine was breaking the Constitution and sought to kill him."

One of the many consequences of Luke not waking up that morning was his missed meditation time. Perhaps if the teen had taken the time to center himself in the Force as he normally did he would have had the prudence not to whisper the next comment under his breath, "Well he was breaking the Constitution. There were specific safeguards against dictatorships which he ignored or amended to suit his needs."

The real reason sitting in the front was never a good idea was how blue Mr. Blue's face was as he wrote a note and sent Luke straight towards the headmaster's office.

Mr. Raybag was in a meeting when Luke arrived at the office, and so the teen has a good half hour to sulk. He knew he was being moody and ridiculous but it was just so stupid! How could no one see that right or not what Palpatine did was illegal? Maybe the Jedi had been horrible, but they were correct. And surely Palpatine did just as many horrible things. Luke's father did numerous horrible things; it was the Sith way. Perhaps it was even the way of all 'civilized' life.

Knowing that the negative thoughts were no good Luke attempted to force himself into meditation, but couldn't. Perhaps the Force was as annoyed as Luke was, or perhaps he was just too distracted by the constant clicking of the chronometer on the wall.

Finally Mr. Raybag came out of his meeting, and Luke forced himself into the man's office. As he looked around, Luke's annoyance was replaced by fear. Force, he'd been so stupid. He was lucky not to be in a prison cell, never mind the office.

Luke sat down in the chair, and wondered when it had gotten so small. He hadn't been in Mr. Raybag's office since his first year, right after his true identity came out. The chair had been so big then. Now it was as if someone had shrunk it.

"So," Mr. Raybag finally began after watching Luke squirm. "Is your father onworld?"

Luke shook his head, blond locks covering his eyes as he did so. He hadn't even thought about what his father was going to say! Force he would be lucky to escape with his life. Anyone else wouldn't even have the chance of doing that. "No, sir."

Mr. Raybag nodded, seemingly unsurprised. "But you live with a nanny correct, for when he's not around?"

"Not anymore sir," Luke admitted, and this appeared to have surprised the headmaster. "She resigned a few days ago because of family needs. My father has decided I am old enough to take care of myself when he cannot be around. And I have a protocol droid that helps with the housekeeping and such."

Mr. Raybag nodded again, smiling knowingly. It bothered Luke, the way this man seemed to think he knew exactly what was going on. There was no way he could, which meant this was surely going to be an awkward conversation. "Well then. Why don't you tell me exactly what happened? All Mr. Blue wrote was that you had made some 'borderline treasonous' remarks about the Jedi."

"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, really. But the code he was reading was wrong, and then I was annoyed and made a comment about the Emperor and… Everything I said was true!"

Mr. Raybag had the reputation of an old-fashioned stickler, but he actually looked sympathetic to Luke. Perhaps he just felt bad for the son of Vader. "Luke, something you'll understand as you age is that truth and reality might not always coincide. What you have been told is reality, what you think is truth, might not actually be the truth. Truth is a matter of context, and within this society truth is what our great Emperor says is truth. In this school we only teach truth, do you understand?"

No, Luke certainly didn't understand. Sure, he knew from literature that sometimes truth went beyond reality, but reality was never not-true. You can't just pretend something didn't happen because you're being told it didn't. Yet Luke held his tongue, hoping that perhaps they would forget to call his father.

"Besides, whatever you said was probably not the _reality_ of the situation either. After all, everything we know about the Jedi we know from your father, which means you know it's true as well. Now I know it must be hard having a father of such importance and sometimes you think that if you act out- by drawing a rebel symbol or saying lies in class- you'll draw his attention but…"

Luke stood up involuntarily, staring at Mr. Raybag in shock. "Wait, you think I'm doing this to get attention? I know I shouldn't have said those things but it was just a spur of the moment mistake. I'm not trying to get my father's attention, and I did not draw those rebel symbols!"

Mr. Raybag nodded, but both the Force and his smile told Luke the man didn't believe him. "Of course, I'm just saying that it's natural to want your father's attention, especially when you are without a mother. Just next time tell him instead of your whole history class, alright?"

Luke felt sick doing so, but he nodded. Anything to get out of that office. It must have done the trick, because Mr. Raybag smiled again, and wrote out a slip. "I saw you were late this morning, so why don't we just extend your detention to an hour and I won't even tell your father."

On some level Luke knew Mr. Raybag was just worried that if Vader knew Luke was in trouble the headmaster would be the one punished, but he didn't mind. Oh, he would be in so much trouble for missing a whole hour of gymnastics, but his father wouldn't know. That was all that mattered.

Luke managed to get through the rest of the morning without incident, despite the whispered words in the hall. For the second time that week everyone was wondering if Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader's son, had somehow turned rebel. Luke tried to block it out, but the Force was really not cooperating, and so when he arrived at the stupid Empire day play practice Luke was thoroughly agitated.

To make it even worse neither Leah nor Rickon were in the show, and Brandon was to be playing the emperor. Luke actually thought that to be quite a fitting role. They were both falsely kind, and then turned in the blink of an eye.

"Okay, so we're just going to begin with a read through. Now the script isn't set in stone so if anyone has any comments or wants to tweak a line or two now is the time to do that. And we also need to figure out props. The art class is working on a set but we need lightsabers. We could use sticks or…" she trailed off, and everyone followed her gaze towards Luke.

The teen sighed, knowing full well what they wanted. Well, his father was going to be offworld until long after the show was done, so what was the harm. "I have a few training sabers that just sting a bit. But I'm not sure if they're legal so…"

Nil suddenly remembered that they were doing a skit where half the cast were playing outlaws, and shook her head furiously, "Right, sticks. Um, okay, so um and does anyone have like a toy Vader mask or…"

"Oh, my father didn't have a mask yet so we don't need one."

Everyone stared at Luke, and the teen wondered if they even knew Vader had ever gone without a mask. Sure, Luke had heard people say that they thought Vader wasn't human but surely Luke's humanity proved otherwise…

"So, what did he look like then?" Garoche Tarkin, the Grand Moff's eighteen year old son, finally got up the courage to ask. Everyone's eyes widened at his bravery, but Luke only laughed. They were all pretty ridiculous sometimes.

"A lot like me I guess, just taller."

Everyone laughed a bit awkwardly, and began to read the script. Luke flipped through it a bit, and was glad to find that his father didn't show up until page ten. Well, technically his father showed up on page two as the play practically began with Anakin Skywalker's death but…

Finally they made it to the point where the Jedi came to kill the Emperor, and 'Vader' made his entrance. Luke read through the lines with ease, considering there were about two, but got up out of the reading circle to show them all how to do a proper lightsaber duel. Garoche was the only one brave enough to try and go against Luke, and while he was promptly defeated, it certainly was a good show.

"Yeah, we definitely need some of that. You know, Garoche, if you wore an alien mask you could be a Jedi in that scene and we could have a big duel between you and Luke. Luke, do you think you could teach him?" Nil asked.

Luke felt uneasy, knowing his father would not approve, but nodded slightly. "I can show him a bit. It took me years of gymnastics and training to do that, but I can show him enough to make it a good show."

Pleased with how cool it was surely going to turn out, they turned the page to where Vader was leading a raid on the Jedi temple. Suddenly Luke felt sick. He couldn't help but think back to the horrifying images Ben Kenobi had showed him all those years ago…

"This is wrong," Luke whispered as 'hundreds of Jedi attack Vader and the clones'. "There weren't that many Jedi in the temple. Most of them were cut down by clones in the field. The temple was mostly just the old and the young."

One of the youngest students looked up at Luke her blue eyes watering, "It's not nice to joke! Everyone at the temple died and Darth Vader would never kill kids."

"My father will kill anyone for the Empire, as any law-abiding citizen is called to," Luke spit out, scaring the girl but too angry to notice. It had been a terrible morning, and now Luke was forced to face the truth he'd been hiding from for years. His father killed kids, and the galaxy called it a good thing. "The Empire kills kids all the time! They starve or they're casualties in a battle or they're drafted into the navy as stormtroopers and die in a tie-fighter because we're too cheap to have shielding or…"

Everyone was staring at Luke, and he realized that Mr. Raybag had just walked into the room and was looking disapprovingly at Luke. No words were spoken, but with a sigh Luke grabbed his things and followed the headmaster from the room. Just as he reached the doorway, Luke heard Brandon tell the others, "I don't care who his dad is. He's treasonous rebel scum."

Apparently Mr. Raybag agreed, because he didn't even say anything as he locked Luke in the office. When the door finally opened the teen was met with the sight of Admiral Cassel. "Sithspit. Am I being arrested as a rebel again?"

Admiral Cassel chuckled, but his eyes held no humor, "You wish kid. Unfortunately you're just stuck with me as an emergency contact when your father is offworld and you're being sent home for the rest of the day until someone can get in contact with your father and ask if he'd like to murder you yourself or if I should do it."

Of course it was the absolute worst thing Luke could say, but he was so incredibly fed up he couldn't help himself. "I'd suggest the Emperor. He's been wanting to for years I'm sure."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'm not going to forget to keep updating this time. I promise.

Chapter 6

Admiral Cassel was a good guy, but he was unwaveringly patriotic. None too amused by Luke's comment, he flew them both in silence. It wasn't until Luke realized that they they'd missed the turn for his apartment that either of them spoke. "You're going the wrong way."

Admiral Cassel raised a dark eyebrow at Luke, but had to quickly turn back to where they were going. "Sorry kid, but I'm not taking you home. C-3PO is a nuisance, and certainly not fit to discipline a rebellious teenager."

"I'm not being rebellious!" Why did everyone think Luke was just trying to get his father's attention? He knew that wasn't the case, so why didn't anyone else. Luke had just gotten fed up with the tales they offered at school and swept up into a cloud of negativity. If he was really trying to get his father's attention, which he was not, he'd do something like give an interview or, you know, call his Comlink. Honestly, no one seemed to understand Luke at all and it was frustrating.

Especially because all the adults seemed to think Luke was just in denial. Admiral Cassel, the coolest adult Luke knew only snorted in disbelief as he continued to navigate their way through traffic. Sighing to himself, Luke attempted to meditate, but ended up more wallowing in self-pity. Missing a practice was enough to keep you out of a meet, and Couch Dug was already mad enough at Luke as it was.

After what felt like an hour, they finally pulled up to the Imperial Center Security Center and found an empty landing pad. Luke went to grab his bag and hop out of the speeder, but Admiral Cassel caught his shirt. "Wait a minute Luke, I want to speak with you."

Luke sighed, but turned towards the Admiral. After all he'd left work to help Luke out; it wasn't fair to be rude to him. "Are you alright Luke? You seemed off on the way here. Almost… well like how your father gets?"

Luke wasn't quite sure what the Admiral meant until he remembered that to most people Vader seemed cold and… dark. He truly was only ever friendly or kind to Luke, reserving either respect of bitter disapproval for the rest of the galaxy. It was the way the Dark Side worked and if Luke was acting like him…

The teen didn't want to believe it, but he gently focused on the Force. Much to his disgust he felt the darkness pounding around him. He had been meditating after all, just in the Dark Side. Luke felt sick. He hated the feeling of the Dark Side, hated it, even if he knew it wasn't objectively evil. (Or so his father said. Everything Luke had read in the Jedi Temple begged to differ. That didn't mean Dark Side users were objectively evil-Luke knew his father could be good-but Luke knew on some level that the Dark Side of the Force itself was just… just wrong.)

And yet he also knew that someday he'd be asked to use it, focus it, for the betterment of himself and the Empire. That fact was one of the many Luke tried to ignore as he pushed away the Darkness for now and focused himself in the Light. Quickly he felt better, lighter, and offered the Admiral a small smile. "Oh, you know, I'm just really upset to be missing out on Geometry. All those shapes…"

Admiral Cassel laughed, but still looked at Luke suspiciously. "You know I'm not mad at you, right? I don't mind having to go pick you up; it's nice to get out of here sometimes. Yes, I disapprove of everything you said as we both know it's not true, but I'm not mad at you. I was fourteen once too and I know how hard it can be. You're just lucky we all know it's just talk, or I'd be locking you in a cell and not just binders."

Luke stared at the Admiral, thinking the man was kidding, but felt no deception in the Force. "Please tell me you're kidding?"

Admiral Cassel laughed again, but shook his head. With one hand on Luke's shoulder he walked them through the halls up towards his office. Luke had been here many times before, and knew the way well. He also knew all the secret Force-sensitive passageways that spies used, and where the most interesting criminals were being held. Perhaps it was for his own good that the Admiral set Luke down in the waiting room a binder connecting his hand to a chair. At least Luke still had his writing hand free to work on the school work he was missing. Once he finished that Luke attempted to meditate, figuring that sooner or later his father would hear about this little mess and Luke would need all the patience he could get. Plus his little brush with the Dark Side earlier had bothered Luke. He didn't like how close he was to the Darkness, and spent time pushing it away and inviting the Light Side in.

Luke knew that his father had hated meditation for a long time, but he loved it. It wasn't just sitting still and repeating the Code in his mind (though sometimes he did do that.) No, Luke's mind wandered, guided by the Force. It was during meditation that Luke got his best ideas and figured out the solution to his every problem. Sometimes he wondered if it was truly meditation or just thinking, but he didn't really care. He felt better afterwards and that was all that mattered.

"Oh, hello."

Luke's eyes fluttered open and he marveled at the sight. Before him was a young woman, his age probably, dressed in an ornate white gown. Her beautiful brown hair was styled equally as majestically in two large buns around her ears. She looked like a princess, and Luke wondered if, perhaps, that was what she was.

"Um, hi," Luke muttered forcing himself to blink. She'd probably be really, really concerned if he just continued to stare but she was so beautiful. She reminded Luke of the pictures he'd seen of his mother…

"I didn't expect to see someone my age here… especially not in binders. Should I be concerned? I didn't think they normally kept dangerous prisoners in the office levels."

She was making fun of Luke and he knew it, but the teen blushed red. This was certainly not the way to make a good impression on someone so beautiful and stately. "Oh, yeah, they don't. I just uh… I kind of got myself suspended from school and my father is offworld but Admiral Cassel is watching me and doesn't want me to get in any more trouble so… I'm not dangerous, I promise."

The girl chuckled at Luke, sweeping her hair back behind her shoulders. "So this is the Admiral's office? I swear I've gotten turned around a dozen times. It will probably take me an hour to get back out of here after my meeting."

"I could show you the way out!" Luke offered, his smile beaming bright. The girl laughed, and Luke realized she was staring at his hand caught in the binder. Smirking to himself Luke focused on using the Force to unlatch it, something his father taught him years ago. The girl seemed genuinely impressed and so Luke smirked. "I have a number of talents you'll find. I'm Luke by the way."

"Leia."

Ah, she truly was as radiant as the flower. "Nice to meet you. So go have your meeting with the Admiral, and I'll show you around afterwards."

Leia pursed her red lips, sizing Luke up. Finally she answered with a giggle, "I don't know. You might not be a dangerous criminal but you did get suspended from school and locked in a binder for a reason."

If Luke hadn't spent the past hour focusing on the Light Side he might have scowled, but instead the teen grinned. "Oh, that was nothing. It's not like I got in a fight or something. I just said a couple things my dad will probably kill me for saying. It was a really bad morning."

"Sounds it," Leia sympathized, and her smile lit the Force. There was just something about her. Luke couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she just seemed… special. Important even. "I should go tell Admiral Cassel that I've made it. If your father hasn't shown up and killed you before I get out perhaps I'll take you up on that offer of a tour. I'm not very familiar with any of the buildings on Coruscant yet. I haven't been here since I was a little girl, and back then I just trailed after my father…"

Luke, being the oblivious teenage boy he was, didn't catch the sadness in the way she trailed off in the end and dumbly asked, "Oh, where is your father now? Is he going to kill you for talking to me?"

"My father died when I was eleven," Leia admitted effectively killing the smile on Luke's face. Suddenly he felt not only stupid, but incredibly rude. "He, he ah broke if neck. Or they say he did .I don't… sorry, I shouldn't say things like that. The idea that a senator could be assassinated and it be covered up… it's treasonous."

"I'm suspended for treason you know. Apparently my accusations about imperial officers murdering children are ill-fitted for an Empire Day play."

It was a stupid thing to say to a stranger. Leia seemed nice, but joking about treason…that wasn't something most of the girls at Luke's school would do. (Well, Leah would, but Leah wasn't really a girl.) Yet Leia had admitted to treason first, and actually full on laughed at Luke's confession. "I don't know, I think that's a play I'd like to see. Something with the truth in it…" Leia's eyes flickered towards the cameras that watched them, and she grew visibly uneasy. "Um, not that what your play originally had wasn't true. I'm sure they were very right in suspending you for comments like that. It was very wrong."

For a second Luke got offended, then he recognized the cameras as well and felt bad. He could get Leia in real trouble for talking about stuff like that so casually. "Um, you should probably get to your meeting the Admiral is probably…"

"Waiting, yeah. I hope your father doesn't kill you Luke. I think I would really like that tour."

Luke smiled, staring at her as she went. Leia was truly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and Luke had been noticing things like that as of late. It wasn't like with the other beautiful girls though. Luke didn't want to get to know her; he felt as if he already did know her. Of course that was impossible but…

Luke jumped as his Comlink buzzed, and he groaned. Apparently his father had entered his day cycle and heard the news. Knowing that the longer he put it off the worst it would be Luke stepped into one of the empty offices and answered, even more concerned when it was a Holocall and not just audio.

Darth Vader stood in miniature holograph from looking ready to kill. Luke didn't need the Force to tell that his father was furious. Despite wearing a mask and having no facial expressions, it was written all over his face.

The pair stared at each other for a second before Luke sighed, "I know, I know, I'm a disrespectful idiot who dishonors you, myself, and the Empire. I just… I couldn't stand listening to all those lies! You taught me the Jedi Code, what was I supposed to do, sit there and listen to it recited wrong?"

"Yes," Vader replied coldly. "You are privileged beyond belief, especially when it comes to knowledge. You should have known better than to question your teacher. In the future I expect you not to question it when what I have told you and what your school tells you don't coincide. But, while I'm concerned about you defending the Jedi, I am more concerned by your comments about the Emperor and myself."

Luke flinched and rubbed his neck. "Yeah well it's the truth."

"It is not," Vader answered simply. He had no patience for the rest of the galaxy, but for Luke he had infinite patience. He had to or Luke would not have survived so long. It wasn't that hard to be patient with Luke anyways. He had an inferiority complex a mile long and saw that which was gray as black and white and that which was black and white in shades of gray. His father simply had to make things clear for Luke, and reassure the teen that he was important, probably the most important teen in the galaxy. "The Emperor does not wish for your death. He has always been one of your greatest supporters. In fact he heard about your words before even me and actually laughed. It appears he finds your treason amusing and wishes for you to spent Empire Day with him."

It took all of Luke's willpower not to physically groan, but when he spoke it was a whine. "But what about Tatooine!"

"I'm sorry about your trip, but I have already contacted your aunt and uncle. Even they see that honoring the Empire of the Galaxy's invitation is more important to a trip to that dust ball."

Luke wanted to cry. Not only could he not go and see his old friends and home but he'd actually have to spend time with the Emperor. Luke hated the Emperor. Whatever his father said the Sith Master did not like Luke and the teen hated him. Palpatine was a horrible person and he terrified Luke.

But it wasn't like Luke was actually being given a choice. Sure he could disobey his father and get on the transport anyways, but what good would it do? Someone would just come after Luke and then he'd have the two most powerful people in the galaxy furious with him. It would be a terrible idea. "Fine."

"Good," Vader was relieved not to have to fight with his son from across the galaxy. Surely he'd be in for an especially moody teenager when he finally returned, but it was always nice when he and Luke got through a conversation without fighting. "Now, what in the galaxy led you say that the Empire kills children?"

Of all the comments Luke had made, that was the one he knew for sure was true. He'd seen his father kill with his own eyes, and it was disturbing. "I just uh. I hear stuff you know. And on some planets the recruitment age for the Stormtrooper academy is 14 and I've knew people on Tatooine who died of starvation or thirst and I was angry so I blamed the Empire even though I know nature and the rebels are responsible but…"

The Force doesn't usually work over Holocom, but Luke and his father shared a special Force bond. Even at this distance Vader could sense things from his son he wouldn't have been able to were Luke someone else. "And you were discussing the Jedi Temple because…"

"Um, well we're talking all about the Jedi because of Empire week," Luke offered trying to avoid the topic of the play. For some reason he still wanted to be in it and knew his father would never allow that should he know the subject matter. "And then someone said that there were hundreds of Jedi there but…"

Vader cursed Kenobi one more time knowing very well that the dead Jedi master was responsible. If only Luke had never seen that tape… "We never discussed what Kenobi showed you all those years ago, did we?" It took Luke a moment, but finally the teen shook his head slowly. "Luke, what I did to those younglings was wrong, and yet it had to be done. The Sith and the Jedi are natural enemies, I swear that is why we fight so often. Those younglings were old enough to know but one thing, and that was to fight Sith. Their deaths provided a foundation of peace for the Empire, yet I regret it. Sometimes the Dark Side takes control of a person and they go too far, as I did. But I do not sanction the slaughter of innocents. We do not waste lives."

It was a vast oversimplification on Vader's part, and on some level even Luke knew it. The Emperor and Vader truly cared little for individual lives. Perhaps they had specific people they would not see dead, such as Luke, but they didn't really care if innocents died so long as the Senate didn't find out. But it was true that, since meeting Luke, Vader had begun to regret his actions of that day, and so there was enough truth for Luke to believe it.

"I know. I shouldn't have said any of those things I did but I was in a bad mood and lost control myself. I'm… I'm pretty sure I touched the Dark Side and it made everything different. I couldn't control myself and so I think I understand."

As concerned as Vader was to hear that Luke was unknowingly touching the Dark Side, he was glad to know that Luke understood. "Good, then this discussion is closed. And I think missing your trip is punishment enough. You are to stay with the Admiral until I return to Coruscant and I have already arranged for you to be back in school tomorrow without further punishment there."

"Thank you." Luke was getting off light and he knew it. Honestly anyone else would have been killed for such comments. "And I'm sorry. I'm sure it must be hard for you when you get news like this."

"Everything about you is hard on me Luke, but that can only be expected from my son. Just keep your head down and don't get in any more trouble until I return or I will not be so lenient."

Luke nodded and shut down the call, moving back towards the waiting room where he sat waiting for Leia. Okay, so perhaps showing her around the complex was exactly the sort of trouble his father had just forbidden but… well you can only expect so much from a fourteen year old boy, now can you.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Luke was playing on his Datapad when Admiral Cassel and Leia walked out of the office. Leia smiled brightly upon seeing Luke was still there, but the Admiral was just shaking his head. Luke blushed as he followed the Admiral's gaze to the unlocked binder.

"Have you spoken with your father yet?"

Glad to have something to say, Luke nodded. "Yes. He didn't even kill me either," the teen added, which just made Leia giggle. Admiral Cassel looked between the two teens, and got a knowing smirk on his face which only made Luke blush more. "He wants me to stay with you until he returns, something about me not blowing up the planet… I hate to inconvenience you but…"

"It's no problem," Admiral Cassel reassured the teen. He'd known Luke for a long time, and liked the boy a lot. Sure Rickon got into a lot more trouble since befriending Luke, but Luke was a good kid. He was just a good kid with a Sith for a father. "I need to finish up a bit of paperwork and then we can go."

Luke nodded. "I'll just wait here then," he told the Admiral glad to watch the man disappear back into his office. Turning back to Leia he grinned, "So tour?"

As brightly as she'd been smiling before, she seemed nervous now, and her eyes kept flickering to the security cameras. Obviously she hadn't forgotten about their earlier conversation that could get them both convicted of treason. "I should get home but perhaps some other time?"

"Sure, and I'll even show you where they keep all the security footage," Luke told her, his smile turning into a grin. Leia's eyes grew wide at his suggestion, and Luke ran his fingers through his hair in the universal gesture of 'cool'. "But whenever you come back will be fine."

Apparently it was Leia's turn to blush because she grew bright red as she said, "You know, Winter won't be expecting me all that soon so perhaps we can go today. You're sure this is allowed though?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not, but that's okay, after we're done no one will know," Luke admitted grinning and grabbing Leia's hand. She looked ready to pull away, but there was a sort of spark when their hands met. They both stared at each other, eyes wide, and Luke realized she'd felt it too. She had felt the Force, and probably had no idea she could.

"Come on, I'm going to show you something incredible," he promised the beautiful teen pulling her out of the offices and down the hall. A few stormtroopers patrolled, but Luke and Leia fit right in and easily got past them. Once they were alone, Luke reached into the walls with the Force and opened the door to the secret passages. His father had showed him how to do so years ago, telling Luke that they were the safest way for him to travel in any Imperial building after Luke had one too many encounters with Grand Moff Tarkin's questions. There were passages for Force-Sensitives in every building built since the formation of the Empire, and Luke often took advantage of them. Sure, every time he went through them there was the chance he'd run into an Emperor's Hand or an Inquisitor, but usually they were empty. Surely he'd be fine showing Leia through them.

And the awe on her face was certainly worth it. What could Luke say? He liked impressing her. "How did you do that?"

"It's a little trick I picked up from my father. There are a lot of things you know when you live in Imperial City," Luke told her, attempting to sound mysterious, but actually sounding a little bit ridiculous as his voice cracked halfway through the second sentence. Leia laughed at him, and Luke was glad the darkness of the passages hid most of his blush. "Come on, the cameras are this way. Oh, and don't worry about what you say while we're back here. This is how all of Palpatine's spies come and go, so there are no cameras."

Leia nodded, and followed Luke through the dark passages. Once or twice she'd hear something that sounded vaguely like footsteps, but the voices bothered her the most. Leia could hear everything that was being said in the offices and halls behind the door, she could even usually see who was speaking, and yet they all seemed oblivious to her and Luke's presence. Sure she'd known the Emperor had spies but for them to be able to do this… it was making Leia paranoid.

And then there was Luke himself. She knew almost nothing about him, and yet was trusting him explicitly. For all she knew he was one of Palpatine's spies, sent to test her loyalty. Maybe her earlier confession was enough poof for the evil Emperor that Leia was a rebel and Luke was leading her to her death. Sure Luke seemed to be only her age, but she wouldn't put it past the Emperor to have teenagers working as assassins and spies. It would explain why he seemed so friendly with the Admiral, and how he could use these odd passageways.

But she trusted him. Despite all paranoia and logic telling her that trusting some Imp's son wasn't a good idea whether or not he meant to be a spy, Leia did trust him. Every time she looked at him there was just this sort of spark and then when their hands met… It wasn't like that with other boys she liked. Leia was actually pretty sure she didn't like Luke. Sure he was cute but not that sort of cute. Actually, he reminded Leia of how a little brother was supposed to be, even if he was probably older than her and certainly not her brother…

"Here, I want to show you how to open these passages… in case you ever need a quick escape or just to be left alone, you know?" Luke called to her, jutting Leia from her thoughts.

Luke secretly was terrified he was about to look stupid because she wouldn't be able to do it, but he had a strong feeling that Leia had some Force-Sensitivity. From his readings Luke knew that the Force often worked a bit differently among girls, but he just had this feeling, almost as if the Force itself was telling Luke she had it. "I want you to put your hand on the wall and imagine the lock within."

Leia did so, but found it impossible. "How can I know what type of lock it is?"

"Just imagine, trust your instinct and pick whichever lock feels right, okay?" He gave her a moment to find the lock before continuing. "Now imagine it opening."

"This is ridiculous, how could picturing an imaginary lock opening open a real lock?"

Luke almost said 'the Force', but realized dropping that burden on Leia would probably not be very kind. "These locks work on mental energy," he told her and it wasn't exactly a lie. The Force was a form of mental energy, sort of. "So if you imagine and believe it will work it will."

Leia continued to scowl, until suddenly she stopped. Luke could see the moment where she felt the Force around her, connecting her to the lock. As soon as she focused that energy the door opened, and she beamed. "That's amazing. I didn't know they made locks that worked like that. They only keep out people who don't know they're there and how they work, but let through everyone who knows. That's pretty smart."

Luke would have to admit to the whole Force thing if he corrected her, so he just nodded. Inside though he was reeling. He couldn't believe Leia was Force-Sensitive. So often those with the ability found themselves recruited by the Hands or the Inquisitors, and yet Leia was smack dab in the center of the Empire and flying completely beneath the radar. It was incredible. "Come on, we're not that far from the…" Luke cut off as one of the passageways besides them opened.

Once again Luke grabbed Leia's hand, placing himself between Leia and the new arrival. He was terrified that it was some Inquisitor coming to take Leia now that she'd proven her skills, but was slightly relieved when he saw a very human looking face. Only slightly relieved though because that face was lined with flaming red hair and a very disapproving gaze.

"Skywalker."

"Jade."

"I thought your father was offworld. What are you doing here?"

Whatever her words said, Luke could feel her staring at Leia. Mustering up all the famous Skywalker courage he stared Mara Jade right in the eyes and said, "I'll tell you if you tell me."

Her eyes grew tight, but, unable to break through Luke's superior shielding, she carried on her way letting Luke and Leia go theirs. Once she was gone Luke let out a huge sigh of relief, and Leia whispered, "Who was that?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you but… Her name, or at least one of her many names, is Mara Jade. She works as a spy for the Emperor, or I think she does. One doesn't get many answers from the likes of her."

Leia had gotten that, but it was still odd. "She looks younger than us! What is she, 12?"

"Or 13 probably. Look, this is the Empire, nothing and no one is ever what they seems. We're going to delete security footage because we were both stupid enough to admit that in public."

Luke's words were more treasonous than anything else he'd said that day, but they made Leia relax. She honestly believed that Luke was just one of the few on Coruscant who saw what the world really was. It was too bad his parents were Imperials though. He'd make a good Rebel… Well maybe someday he still could be. Many members of Leia's Rebel Alliance were from Imperial homes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have questioned you, but it scares me. I thought I knew what I was getting at here on Coruscant but then I find out that there are little girls spying on me through walls and I…"

Luke smirked a bit, opening the door that led them to where all the footage was stored. "Welcome to the Galactic Empire. Come on I don't want to still be back here when Jade does some research and figures out that you should not have been allowed back there."

"Are you going to be in trouble?" Leia asked climbing out of the walls behind Luke. She didn't get a reply right away, probably because Luke was busy talking to three stormtroopers who were probably guarding the footage. She couldn't hear much at all, at least not until Luke raised his voice.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOUR POST BECAUSE YOU'VE ALREADY LOST A PRINCESS?" Whatever response the guards came up with must not have been good enough for Luke because he continued, "WELL I'D SUGGEST GOING OUT AND LOOKING FOR HER INSTEAD OF STARING AT SOME COMPUTER SCREENS IF SHE DISAPPEARED FROM SOMEWHERE ON THE 6TH FLOOR!"

Luke said something else Leia couldn't hear, though she thought she heard the word 'father'. Whatever the case the three troopers disappeared from the room and Leia came out from behind the shelves that hid the passage doorway.

"So you're a princess? That's cool," Luke told her grinning as he sat down and tried to find the proper footage to delete. He needed an access code password to get in, but figured his father probably had access and entered his father's details- a long complex access code, and then "LukeAmidala" as the password. (His father was nothing if not predictable.) "You know my mother was a queen, so that kind of makes me a prince, but it was an elected position so not really."

"No I guess that wouldn't count, would it?" Leia admitted shaking her head. She should have known Luke would figure out which princess the stormtroopers had lost. "Yeah, my mother is Queen of Alderaan and I'm their princess. That's why I was talking to the Admiral. My mother is visiting in a few weeks and I need to figure out matters of security. I'm not really a target; no one knows me. My mother on the other hand has been a target of rebel attacks before." Of course she was targeted on purpose to make it seem like Alderaan had reason to hate the Rebels, but Leia couldn't exactly tell Luke that.

She didn't need to though, because Luke seemed to believe the story. Not that he was paying all that much attention to her. He was going through and deleting the footage of their first conversation and then something else… it looked like Luke talking to a Holo but Leia wasn't close enough to see who, probably his father.

"We're good, though once I show you back to the upper levels we shouldn't be seem together again. Just in case we can't hold our tongues."

Leia nodded, and opened the door that led them back into the tunnels. She couldn't figure out why Luke stared at her as she did, but she took it as an opportunity to ask her own question. "So this father that almost killed you for treason but decided against it… I'm assuming he's important, but I don't recognize the name Skywalker."

"It was my mother's name," Luke rubbed his neck anxiously as he tried to brush the question aside. He liked Leia, a lot, and mostly because she was unafraid to speak her mind about the Empire. Surely that would change if she knew who Luke really was. Most people didn't understand that A- Luke could keep things from his father, and B- that the Emperor, not Vader, was the true evil. "But yeah, my father is pretty high up in the military. High enough up that all the Stormtroopers are convinced I can have them transferred to mall security or something if they disappoint me."

That narrowed down the list a lot for Leia, but in a way it narrowed it too much. Luke just didn't seem like the son of a Moff, which meant there had to be someone Leia was forgetting, and he didn't seem ready to tell her. She couldn't blame him either, not when she wasn't admitting to things like why she was on Coruscant.

Both more anxious about saying something they shouldn't, they made their way back through the passages in silence. When Luke finally told her this would be a good place for her to get out Leia wondered if she would regret not learning more about Luke. "I hope I get to see you again Luke."

"You too Leia. Stay safe, and if you ever need to use these passages and you run into someone back here just tell them it's none of their business who you are but that your ability to be back here proves you have the right to be, okay?"

Leia nodded, though Luke could tell his words didn't make much sense to her. Still, as she disappeared back into the normal hallways Luke knew he was glad to have met Leia. She was certainly something, even if Luke couldn't quite come up with the right word for his feelings.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Oh good you're back," Nil cried, running towards Luke first thing the next morning. "We're all getting dismissed from second period so we can do a run through before the assembly… you have memorized your lines right?" Luke stared at her, blinking, and the over-excited teen literally huffed in annoyance. "The play Luke, the play!"

"You mean I'm still doing that?" Luke had imagined that they would have found someone else to play his father after the whole fiasco at practice yesterday. Yet apparently Nil expected him to go on despite having missed the majority of the only practice.

"Of course! I mean the things you said yesterday were pretty horrible but we all know you were just taking the joke too far and… well it is a tradition to have kids play their parents and no one else wanted to play Vader in case he came to the assembly since parents are invited and…"

Ah, so there was the real truth. "Yeah, I can look over the lines. But what about costumes and props? Did you really get them all together yesterday?"

Nil nodded, and Luke found himself impressed with the girl. Sure, she could be pretty insufferable at times, but she was certainly an effective worker. Maybe he should try to partner up with her for class projects sometime…

"So who is this girl Jade saw you with yesterday?" Leah asked coming up behind Luke and grabbing his shoulder. Rickon gave Leah an odd look, probably wondering what on earth she was talking about, but Luke just blushed.

"How did you even know about that? How do you even know her?" One would think that after four years Luke would be used to Leah knowing, well, everything, but this meant she was spying on spies. She could get herself killed if Jade found out.

But Leah didn't seem concerned. She shrugged casually and said, "She lives in the palace. I live in the palace. It's not that big of a place." Well that wasn't true. The palace was about the size of Anchorhead. "Who was she? Jade seemed pretty pissed that she didn't know."

"Her name is Leia, she's the princess from Alderaan," Luke told her shrugging as if somehow that would make it seem like no big deal. But it was a big deal and both Leah and Rickon knew it. Luke never hung out with any girl besides Leah outside of school. Actually, he didn't hang out with even Leah outside of school. If Luke was talking to some girl…

"I was with you all night? How did I miss a Princess?" Rickon asked sounding legitimately hurt. He'd mentioned before how cool it would be to date royalty, but Luke didn't want to tell Rickon that he probably wasn't Leia's type.

"She was at the Complex talking to your dad. I showed her around a little bit and we ran into Jade while I was doing so. It was really no big deal."

Rickon and Leah's expressions begged to differ. "Okay, but who is this Jade? How do both of you know her but not me?"

"Mara Jade, little brat with flaming red hair and a temper to match it. She's one of the Emperor's pet spies. If you ever see her run," Leah explained as the bell rung for them to head off to math class.

The three of them begun walking on their way, but Rickon was still very hyper. No one could blame him; he had just realized what Luke had known forever-Leah was not all she seemed. "And she just lives in the Palace like you do? And one of? Does the Emperor have lots of spies? Are they all pretty."

Leah laughed, "I never said she was pretty."

"She's pretty pretty," Luke admitted. Sure Mara terrified him and he had been forbidden from speaking to her by his father, but that didn't make Mara any less attractive. She was a bit young for Luke at the moment, but she was pretty.

Leah didn't find it amusing, however, that Luke thought so. Rolling her eyes she muttered some curse that Luke was pretty sure could get her expelled. He didn't get a chance to ask her about it though because they had arrived at class and been forced to take their seats.

During second period Luke made his way towards the auditorium where the other students involved in the play were gathered. They all stared at him for a moment, but went back to trying to pull together the skit on such short notice.

"Hey Luke, do you think we still have enough time for you to show me how to do a fun lightsaber fight?"

Luke groaned, having forgotten completely about his promise, but nodded. Nil had gotten a bunch of lightsaber toys for them all to use, and so Luke grabbed a red one and tossed a blue to Garoche. The older teen was pretty strong and athletic, which helped, but Luke quite literally danced circles around him. In the end though they figured out a fight scene that was way more epic than anything else in the show and called it a day.

"So I couldn't help but wonder," Garoche asked as the two of them broke for water. "Did your father really not always have a mask? My father said he needs it to breathe but I figured he was born with a defect."

Luke very much didn't want to talk about it, but resigned himself to the question. So long as he could hold his tongue it couldn't hurt to tell the truth. In fact the story was just the type of story the Empire liked to propagate. "Yeah. There was the Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the two of them fought on the planet Mustafar shortly after the rise of the Empire. Mustafar is all lava and my father was burned. That's why he wears the suit."

"Wow, that sucks," Garoche declared after a moment of silence. "The Jedi were really horrible weren't they. This Kenobi guy sounds like a jerk."

Luke looked around, half expecting to see the ghost there berating him, but there was no sign of Kenobi. "He and my father were old enemies I guess. It's complicated. In the end though my father killed Kenobi so I guess he got his revenge."

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing about him actually. But that was only a few years ago right? Right about the time that you…" Garoche trailed off, making one too many connections and getting very uncomfortable. Without another word the older teen got up and went back to the rest of the group leaving Luke alone to curse his loose tongue. No wonder he was always getting in so much trouble!

In the end Nil had decided that, correct or not, Luke needed to wear a mask for the audience to know who he was. It was odd for Luke as he pulled on the suit and mask. Within minutes he, a boy from the desert, was burning hot, and it was basically impossible to see properly. And why was everything red? Was this actually how his father saw? Had Vader really gone without color for almost fifteen years? Did he really not even know what Luke looked like?

It was a sobering thought, and Luke resolved to be nicer to his father. He had only been injured because he was trying to save Luke's mother from dying during Luke's birth. Kenobi was the one who left him to die, but Luke was the reason his father had been without color for so long. It made him feel pretty terrible.

The really odd thing about the costume was that it came with a voice modulator and everything. When Luke spoke he sounded just like his father. Actually, he seemed to be his father in the suit, minus over a foot of height.

"You almost look loyal in that suite, rebel scum."

Luke found moving to be a bit difficult in the costume, and so it took him a minute to turn and face Brandon. Once he did turn it took all of Luke's willpower not to laugh. Brandon looked ridiculous dressed as the Emperor, but not nearly ugly enough. (Which was a shame.) No, he just looked like a child playing dress up which, in a very real sense, he was.

"Is this really the best the Alliance can do? A scrawny kid defending them? It's pitiful."

"I'm sorry the Rebels killed your father Brandon, really," Luke told the bully calling on the Force to help him have patience. "But they have hurt people I care about too. And I don't care if you think I'm a rebel, I'm not. I'm actually in line for the throne, so perhaps you should think before agitating me."

Brandon laughed, but looked visibly nervous. "As if anyone would ever let you on the throne. They'd have to be out of their mind."

"Careful," Luke warned Brandon. Obviously Brandon was too obsessed with his hatred of Luke to realize who was being an idiot this time. "Calling the Emperor of the galaxy crazy is treason. Which one of us would be the Rebel then?"

Brandon's eyes filled with panicked fury, and he looked ready to either cry or punch Luke in the face. Unfortunately for him, he went with the second option. Sighing to himself Luke grabbed Brandon's hand mid punch and pulled it out at an awkward angle. "You will never come near me again, or I will tell my father and then you'll get to see how a lightsaber works up close and personal."

Brandon at this point did start to cry, and Luke let him go. As Brandon ran away everyone stared at them until Garoche finally laughed. "Sith's Hell Luke that was terrifying, but I think I'm glad someone finally put that dork in his place."

Everyone else laughed awkwardly, but Luke noticed everyone giving him a wide birth of space. He tried to brush it off, but it hurt to know they were all scared of him. It seemed that even when he kept his temper people still seemed bothered by Luke. He literally could not win.

Luckily Luke didn't have much time to think on it because places were called and the assembly began. On the other side of the curtain Mr. Raybag welcomes the students and their esteemed family members, and Luke suddenly felt nervous. What if he messed up? What if he didn't mess up and everyone was terrified by his lightsaber duel? What if one of the esteemed family members gathered told Luke's father…

"Fifteen years ago the galaxy was engaged in a great war," Nil began narrating, and Luke attempted to push away his fear. Fear was not the way of the Jedi, and even if he was dressed as a Sith, Luke was a Jedi.

When it was Luke's turn to enter and 'defend the Emperor', he walked onto the stage with the focus of a Jedi master. He was completely oblivious to every member of the audience as he and Garoche fought. Completely oblivious of everything but the Force and their fight until he heard Garoche yell, "I, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, will destroy you Vader. And your family!"

The lines were improvised, and Luke could hear the cast and the audience get uncomfortable with them. Luke himself was furious at Garoche for making such a comment, and found himself going out of their choreography. Pushing off with the Force Luke jumped and spun over Garoche, "stabbing" him in the back. Garoche fell and the crowd cheered, but Luke was oblivious. All he knew was that there was one person in the audience not clapping. One person in the audience that was furious. One person that was not supposed to be there- his Father.

Luke kept going, knowing he'd be in so much trouble for ruining the play, but his heart was no longer in it. All that was going on in his head was how furious his father was. Luke could feel the Sith's fury radiating through the Force. Luke hadn't seen his father this angry since he'd fought and killed the real Obi-Wan.

Perhaps that was why Luke lingered after the end of the performance. Everyone else changed quickly and went out to be with their families, but not Luke. No, he lingered back stage, and quite possibly would have stayed there until his death had he not felt his father calling to him through their training bond. The message was quite clear-the longer we wait to talk about this the more trouble you'll be in.

Luckily the other families had gone on to the reception, so the only person left in the auditorium was Luke's father. He looked pretty ridiculous in the school, as he generally looked ridiculous anywhere but the bridge of a ship. His mask hid his face as always, but Luke was pretty sure even a non-Force-Sensitive could feel the sheer fury radiating from his father.

"Imagine my surprise when I come back from my mission early and find an invitation from your principle to a play about my life," Vader began his voice sounding even more intimidating than normal. "Are you attempting to get me to kill you because it certainly seems as if you are."

"The Kenobi line wasn't in the script I swear!" Luke cried out, looking even smaller than he was beneath his father's gaze. "He just figured it out! And I was going to ask you about the play but then you had gone on a mission and I had been suspended and it just slipped my mind and I figured you'd say yes anyways so... I didn't even want to do it but everyone was saying I had to because of some stupid tradition."

Vader raised his hand, and Luke thought for a second he was going to get Force choked. He realized, however, that his father was just trying to quiet him. Vader had not missed his son's fear, however, and attempted to keep his calm so not as to provoke Luke more. If there was one thing he'd learned in his years of parenting it was that Luke was never more irrational then when he was scared. "Please, enlighten me on what possessed you to think I would say yes to you dressing up as me for a stupid Empire Day play!"

"Because you love the Empire?"

Vader practically growled, and probably would have broken a finger from clenching it too hard if his fingers weren't all metal. "You knew I would not approve and so you did not tell me. Admit it."

"Fine! Fine! I knew you'd kill me if I told you but I didn't want to upset anyone at school by not doing it and I thought it would be fun. And it was fun! It was so much fun to be able to show everyone what I can do instead of everyone just assuming all I did was go around and kill people like you!"

It was Vader's breaking point, and for a fleeting second Luke couldn't breathe. He clawed at his throat desperately, and Vader released him, but the damage was already done. Luke ran away crying, and his father had just received confirmation that he was the most unfit father in the galaxy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Vader was concerned he'd never see his son again, but Luke came home that very night. He apologized with a real honest 'I'm sorry', but Luke ignored him. The teen, who looked like he'd been crying for hours, simply ignored his father, replicated some dinner, and locked himself in his room with R2 and 3PO for company. Figuring Luke simply needed time Vader retreated to his own room for some meditation, and actually found himself falling asleep.

In his sleep Vader was plagued by nightmares. At first he just relived the events of the day, watching as time and time again he choked his own son. The dream progressed though. Vader saw himself choking Padmé, killing Padmé with the same choke he'd done to Luke. And then there was his mother, dying of her wounds, just glad to see her son but totally unaware of what a monster he truly was.

When Vader awoke the few organic pieces of him were sweating. He reached out through the Force to reassure himself that Luke was, in fact, still in his room. For a fleeting moment he couldn't feel Luke, but then he caught the presence of his sleeping son. Luke appeared to be having nightmares as well, and Vader could only imagine of what, but at least he was still alive. That was more than Padmé had been after what Vader had done to her…

Vader did not go back to sleep that night, and so he sat at the kitchen table doing paperwork when Luke wandered out to get breakfast. It appeared their relationship was already healing as Luke even managed to speak to his father this time. "I'm going over Rickon's house."

Sure, Luke was giving orders and not asking permission, but at least he was speaking to his father. That was improvement. "Very well. The Emperor has told me that I am not allowed to get out of the Empire Day celebrations again, so I shall be here catching up on paperwork and reports."

Apparently Vader was vastly overestimating the state of their relationship, because the next words out of Luke's mouth cut deep, "I wish you weren't here. Maybe then mom would be."

Vader had never forgiven himself for what he did with Padmé. He knew he had killed her, even if she must have lived long enough to give birth to Luke. His actions had undoubtedly caused her death. She'd been dead from the moment she walked into Watto's shop. He'd told her he was a person, but he'd been wrong. He was no person; he was just a demon set forth to destroy the angels of the galaxy. Angels like Padmé, and Luke

What would she say if she knew how terribly he'd messed up this time? Surely she would hate him as Luke obviously did. It was the only reasonable response. And yet Padmé had been so forgiving, so kind. She probably wouldn't hate him for what he'd done, and that only made it worse.

Luke knew his words to his father were unfair, but he couldn't help himself. His father, his _father_, had choked him. He hated Luke that much, saw Luke as that much of a nuisance, that he'd wanted him dead, even if it was only half a second. Rickon had warned Luke not to do the play and then he'd done it, Sith's hells he enjoyed it, and look how that ended. Luke felt like an utter failure. He was supposed to be making his father better, but instead he'd pushed his father to the point of murder. He was a terrible son.

When he left the apartment Luke had planned on going to Rickon's, but his feet instead carried him to the Jedi Temple. A part of him screamed that it was a bad idea, that if Vader found out he'd just be even more angry, but Luke walked in anyways. Maybe there was something in there, some clue as to how to be a better son.

Lightsaber wounds cauterized immediately. There had been no blood fifteen years ago when the Jedi were massacred, and there was none fifteen years later. _Fifteen years ago tomorrow. Fifteen years ago today the Jedi were just going about their lives as normal, probably even celebrating because it seemed the war was over. They had no idea they only had a day left to live._

It was a sobering thought, and made Luke want to run back to his apartment and forgive his father. But it was just so hard. How do you forgive someone who wanted you dead? How do you forgive yourself when you drive someone to that point?

"Do you ever wish we'd made it away that day? Or that I'd caught up to you before your father did?"

Luke wasn't surprised by ghost Obi-Wan's appearance, and for once he wasn't bothered all that much. It was nice to be there with someone else who understood what it meant to be attacked by someone you loved. "No. Not really. The only thing I ever wanted was a father. I just never expected it would be this difficult."

"Your father was always difficult," Obi-Wan laughed, his eyes alight with the ghosts of the past. "When he was a young boy he hated to be stuck inside training. I'd often have to search the whole city just to find him helping to serve food in a soup kitchen. All padawan training had a component of service, and I'd say he thrived in that as much as he did in the physical aspects. Anakin always had a good heart. I only wonder what happened…"

Luke knew. Luke had always known. "He had too good a heart. He tried to save my mother, save me, save the galaxy, but Palpatine lied to him. He didn't realize what he'd done until it was too late and now he just tries to bring order to the galaxy however he can."

"Through violence? You do not create light by turning off a lamp," Obi-Wan saw Luke's face grow annoyed, and knew he had to change the subject. Luke was still too young. Even now when he was angry at his father he still loved him too much to see he could be wrong. "It does not matter. What matters is how you decide to respond to him. Will you let your fear and hate fester? Let it turn you to the Dark Side? You have to spend the whole day tomorrow with the Emperor, do you think you should go into that weak? If you do he will turn you and you will destroy your father. As angry as you are now do you want to kill your father?"

Luke looked horrified, with a special brand of indignation he inherited from his mother, not his father. "Of course not!"

"Then you must forgive. If you are truly a Jedi you will always choose the path of forgiveness, remember that."

Obi-Wan disappeared, and left Luke with his thoughts. The teen knew he had to forgive his father, he'd even planned on it, but that didn't make doing so any easier. Especially not when he still blamed his loose tongue for provoking his father…

The Jedi Temple was huge, and Luke still hadn't explored it all. As he wandered through the Temple he found a wing of what appeared to be bedrooms. It was creepy considering many of the rooms had clothes lying on the floor, and one even had food rotting inside. The Jedi had really had no idea they were all about to die… And yet they were dying for being willing to fight against the peace and security of the Empire. It was so confusing.

Somehow Luke knew it when he reached what had been his father's room. There was just something about it that screamed Skywalker, and he couldn't help but wander inside.

The bed was perfectly made, probably because it was never slept in. Luke's father would have gone to his mother's apartment whenever on Coruscant. This room was just for show.

But even then it looked surprisingly like Luke's room. Droid parts sat on a table half finished. Robes, all in shades unbefitting of a Jedi were stuffed into dressers. There was nothing obviously personal, and none of it was really his. Jedi were supposed to have no possessions.

But they also were supposed to have no attachments, and Anakin had failed terribly there. That was why Luke wasn't surprised when he found stuffed beneath his father's mattress a series of letters.

It was amazing for Luke, to be able to see his parents' love for the first time. The letters were all from his mother, all to her 'dearest Ani'. She'd been lonely, very lonely during the war. She wanted her husband home. She wanted to do things that Luke didn't want to think of his parents doing. Yet, in this beautiful handwriting Luke saw pure unadulterated love, and Luke wished for the millionth time that he'd known his mother. Not at the expense of his father, not like he'd said, but he wished he had them both.

Luke was about to set the letters away, afraid of destroying them if he tried to take them, when he noticed a letter in different handwriting. Where his mother's was large and loopy, this was much more of a messy scrawl, and Luke realized it was his father before the suit.

_My daughter (or son, Padmé thinks you're a boy but I disagree),_

_You lie in your mother next to me, and I wish none of us ever had to move. Why can't the galaxy just stay this still forever? Tomorrow I have to report to the council about Dooku. I will admit to you what I cannot tell them- he was weaponless when I killed him. The Chancellor urged me to take his life, to avenge all those who have died in this war, and I did. There is a darkness in me that I know you won't inherit. You will be good, just like your mother. You'll be like her in all things I'm sure. If the only thing you get from me is a love for flying I could not be happier._

_I am sorry that you have to be born into this life. A life where no one can know who your father is or what he does. I'd give up my place in the Order to be with you and your mother, but then she'd lose her seat on the Senate, and I cannot do that to her or the galaxy._

_But this means I'll probably be sent away a lot. It pains me to know that you might grow up without me being there to see it, but I promise you that even if I'm not there to say it I'm proud of you and I love you. And every night I will write you a letter like I write your mom and when I can't be there in person you can at least have my words._

_When your mother told me she was pregnant it was the happiest moment of my life so far, but I know with you I'll have even happier moments. I'm sure there will be times when I want to strangle you, as I know Obi-Wan did me, but I will always love and protect you. I never had a real father, but you will, even if I die tomorrow and all you ever have of me is this letter._

_I love you my angel,_

_Dad_

Tears pressed hard against Luke's cheeks, and he tried to wipe them away. For the first time it crossed his mind that the father he had raising him was not the father he would have had. Palpatine took that father from him, and Luke couldn't forgive that.

But he could forgive his father because this father was in his father somewhere. His father truly loved him and was proud of him. His father might react more harshly than this father would have, but it was the same love. Luke knew it.

Carefully he folded up his mother's letters and slid them back into their place, but he kept his father's letter close to his chest. This letter belonged to him. All those unwritten letters belonged to him. He hadn't gotten this father, but he'd gotten his father, and nothing could change that.

Luke lingered outside the doorway for a minute upon returning home, but finally he pushed the door open. His father was sitting there crouched over some reports, and Luke realized the two handwritings weren't even that different, not significantly. He had only one father and that father had promised to always love him. He didn't want to kill Luke because he loved Luke, it had just been the first reaction of a Sith.

"I'm sorry for wishing you had died," Luke finally admitted causing his father to look up. Luke wondered if his father was crying, or even could cry beneath his mask. Because of Obi-Wan Luke would never know. "I didn't mean it, just like I know you didn't mean to try and kill me."

"I would never kill you Luke. I know that is a fear you've struggled with, but I will always stop. I should have stopped sooner but…"

"It's okay," Luke told him and he actually meant it. "I know that's just the way you are. I don't like it but it's you, and I love you. And I know you love me, even if doing so makes you a bad Sith."

Vader couldn't get the words out, and hated himselg for it, but he nodded. He was glad Luke knew how he felt.

"Do you promise not to get angry again if I tell you something?"

Vader certainly didn't like the sound of that, but he knew he wouldn't try to choke Luke again. He'd never make that mistake again; he swore it to himself. "I will try to control my temper."

"I… I've been going to the Jedi Temple on weekends." Luke cringed, waiting for his father's fury, but found none. "You're not mad?"

Vader shook his head, but walked over to place a hand on his son's shoulder. "I was furious when I found out, but I've known for some time. You couldn't possibly believe the Emperor left that wealth of knowledge unsecured. You've been setting off sensors for months."

"Oh." Luke felt a bit stupid for not having realized that his father would know. He'd just assumed he was being super casual about it and no one would ever know. Of course that wouldn't be the case; this was Imperial City. Some spy had probably followed Luke there a time or two and the teen didn't even notice. "Well I went there today and I actually, well I found your room. There wasn't much in there but there was…"

"The letter." Vader had never considered the possibility of his son stumbling upon the letter during one of his visits, but now he was glad that the Force had arranged it. Now he knew why Luke could forgive his father. "Come here, I want to show you something."

Luke had no idea what to expect as he followed his father deeper into the apartment. They stopped outside the bedroom doors and Luke thought for a second he was actually going to be allowed in his father's room, but then his father surprised him even more. He turned to the left and opened the door to the other bedroom, the one Luke had always believed held some sort of dangerous chemicals used for torturing.

It looked like any other bedroom in the house, except it was much more feminine. Suddenly Luke realized this was the master bedroom, the bedroom his parents had lived in before he was born. Before his mother died.

The closet still held all her ornate gowns, and Luke couldn't help but trail his fingers along the jewels. He'd seen some of these dresses in pictures of his mother, but he never imagined that they still sat gathering dust a room over.

Luke's father had gone over to the bed, and, after touching it in an oddly gentle way, crouched down and pulled out a box from beneath the bed. He held the box for a second, before handing it over to Luke.

Luke lifted the lid and found hundreds of pages filling the box. He didn't even need to pull one out to know what they were. Almost-15 year old boy or not Luke felt tears brimming in his eyes once again. "You actually did it. You actually wrote the letters."

"For a while," he admitted, moving from the room as if it hurt him too much. (It probably did.) "I stopped on your first birthday. They're not very pleasant, I was under the impression I had killed you after all, but they do belong to you and you're welcome to read them. They're all addressed to a girl as well. I should have known a mother's intuition was greater than what I thought the Force was saying."

Luke could hardly believe it. Even after turning to the Dark Side his father had still written him letters for a year. He'd kept his promise for a year before giving into the despair. Luke simply couldn't help himself, he hugged his father.

His father quickly pushed him away, but as Luke ran off to his room to start reading the hundreds of letters, Luke was pretty sure his father had a smile on beneath that dark mask.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Luke was smiling when he fell asleep in a mess of his father's letters, but he was certainly not smiling when his alarm went off. He groaned and went to snooze it, but didn't mange to before his father called out, "Do you really want to face the Emperor without meditating first?"

Luke groaned loud enough for his father to hear, but swung out of bed. The one advantage of his Tatooine trip being cancelled was that he could take a real shower instead of a sonic one. The teen let the water drip off him steaming up the fresher before actually turning it off and dressing. Sometime while Luke had been inside his father must have entered Luke's bedroom because an outfit was lying out on the bed. Luke had never seen it before; probably his father had it made especially for the occasion. It looked soft enough and so Luke didn't hesitate much in putting it on.

Once Luke looked in the mirror, however, he wanted to pull it right off. The soft silk was, of course, all black, but what Luke hadn't noticed before were the traces of gold stitched in. The buttons appeared to be solid gold and even had the Imperial emblem pressed in. Jewels ordained the outfit lavishly, and Luke felt just plain ridiculous. Sure it was a very formal event, Empire Day with the Emperor, but surely this was excessive. The last time Luke had spent Empire Day with the Emperor he'd been wearing a prison jumper…

"Don't tug on your collar like that," his father chastised as Luke made his way into the kitchen. "You'll wrinkle it all and look like a fool."

Luke shot his father a glare as he took a piece of burnt toast 3PO had made. "I already look like a fool! Who even dresses like this?" Luke's father was certainly dressed no different than normal. At most his cape had been pressed. (Suddenly Luke understood where his outfit came from. His father did wear a cape after all. At least Luke wasn't wearing a cape.)

"Luke, I know you and I have not often discussed this but the fact remains that you are the Imperial Prince," his father answered sounding physically pained. Luke shivered internally at the thought, and figured his father probably did too. After all Luke didn't have to be Emperor until both Palpatine and his father died, which seemed to the teen as something that could never happen. Vader would be Emperor upon his master's death, and everyone knew Palpatine was celebrating his eightieth birthday that year. Vader acted more as a commander-in-chief than a Crown Prince, but the realities of the situation remained. Sooner or later Luke would have his father's job as his father would have Palpatine's.

Luke liked the idea of his father as Emperor, it was true. His father truly wanted peace and justice in the world, even if he sometimes went too far to get it. Palpatine was selfish and horrible, but Luke's father wanted to bring the galaxy to peace. No the thought of Emperor Vader made Luke smile.

But the thought of himself as the supreme leader of the Navy? Or worse, as the Emperor himself made Luke feel sick. Rickon would be a much better Emperor, or even Leah for that matter. The reign of Emperor Skywalker would be a terrible one indeed.

"Luke, are you even listening to me?" His father asked, pushing against Luke with the Force to rouse the teen. "I was informing you that you need to be on your absolute best. I wish I had more time to teach you the ways of Court, but you have probably learned more at school than I will ever know. I am no politician and because of my position no one expects much of me. They will be looking at you, waiting for you to be a mistake and prove you are the weak link in the Empire. You must have perfect manners, speak only when spoken to, and under no circumstances say what you are actually thinking. Understood?" Luke nodded, and his father poked Luke through their training bond. "Answer questions with a yes or a no, not a nod. Understood?"

Luke went to nod, but caught himself and clearly said, "Yes Father."

The added 'father' gave Vader enough hope that they could make it through the day without a complete disaster, and so he did not follow through on his plan to 'accidentally' crash their speeder so neither had to go to the celebrations. He just led Luke to the speeder, encouraged the teen to meditate on the way, and hoped that some side of the Force had sympathy on his son.

Luke couldn't help but be nervous as he followed his father from the speeder towards where the Emperor was waiting. For one, his last meeting with the Emperor hadn't gone too well, but also Luke just didn't want to have the whole galaxy watching him. He wasn't anyone special. He wasn't any prince. He was just an average-to-intelligent teenage boy who loved Holos and games and happened to be training in the Force. That didn't make him truly special. It didn't make him worthy to be seen as someone above the rest of the galaxy, and yet that was exactly what his clothes said he was. Luke had worn ragged farmer's whites for over a decade; he didn't need gold to feel like he's moved up in the world.

"Ah, Lord Vader, young Skywalker, I'm glad you could join me," the Emperor greeted as the pair turned the corner. His robes were a crimson red, but, as always, covered his deformed face underneath. Luke had no idea what happened to the Emperor to deform him, but he wondered if perhaps that was part of the Sith thing. Every Sith Luke knew was deformed; another reason the teen wasn't so sure of that path.

"My master," Vader greeted with bowed head. Luke followed suit quickly with a bow, but it must have looked ridiculous because the Sith Master laughed. Luke blushed quickly, which only made more tendrils of glee mix in with the Emperor's dark Force presence.

"No need to worry boy, I'm sure someone has informed you by now that I do not want to kill you."

Luke blushed again, but finally got up the courage to speak despite Palpatine's sickening presence. "I want to apologize to you personally for my comments. They were said in anger and very unfair and wrong."

Palpatine stopped laughing, and Luke could tell he was trying to break past his shields. For a second he considered letting the old master in, but found himself repelling Palpatine. The Sith Master didn't seem to like that all that much, but he put on a smile for his apprentice's sake. "Your son has grown strong in the Force Lord Vader. Does it concern you that he shall soon surpass you?"

"It is a fact I am resigned to," Vader replied simply, probably wondering what had occurred to spark such a comment. "Kenobi deprived me of much of my power when he destroyed my body. Luke is strong; he will be able to succeed where I have failed."

Luke almost commented that his father his still much better than him, but remembered to hold his tongue last second. Both adults noticed, but didn't ask him what was on his mind. They did not want to know.

"Come then, the ceremonies await. I was going to introduce young Skywalker to the galaxy officially, but perhaps we should just let them gossip about what his presence means. It will be far more interesting," Sidious suggested.

Luke loved the idea, but he could feel his father's annoyance. Vader did not want his son to be the spectacle of gossip as it would surely go far beyond anything the Emperor could ever imply in an introduction. This was a punishment for Luke's strength of will, and the boy hadn't even come close to showing his true self. Surely it was going to be a very long day.

The three of them moved towards the platform, and were almost in sight of the people when Palpatine stopped once more. "I know how much you hate these things, old friend. Young Skywalker and I will fair fine alone if you were to go and participate in the Tie-Fighter show. You have often commented that you would prefer to be involved in that extent."

Vader had of course been saying that for 14 years, and he was furious that his master chose now to take him off on that offer. It was obvious that he was trying to separate father from son, probably to turn Luke against him. It wouldn't be difficult considering what Luke was just getting over; surely Palpatine had heard of Vader's deadly mistake.

"I do not mind Master," Vader answered coolly fully aware that he couldn't just outright refuse no matter how much he wished to protect Luke.

But it was this desire to protect Luke that the Sith Master was using to control his apprentice, and while the teen was oblivious, both adults knew it full well. "I insist. Your Tie-Advance prototype is being unveiled today on Lothal, so this will be your last chance to fly the old model."

Luke had to admit he didn't like the idea of his father leaving. It wasn't that Luke was particularly dependent on his father normally; he simply couldn't be. Yet on this day… with this person… well Luke needed all the help he could get.

But his father apparently would not be offering that help, because he got to go flying while Luke was stuck with the Emperor. It was so beyond unfair that Luke didn't even care. He was used to unfairness when it pertained to his father.

_Do not let him corrupt you. Remember the truths you know._

Luke was shocked to hear his father's voice in his head, but managed to keep still enough that the Emperor wouldn't know the exchange was possible. Luke hadn't even known the exchange was possible, but he should have. Everything was possible with the Force.

"Come now Skywalker, the galaxy awaits."

The Emperor was walking onto the platform towards the thunderous crowd and Luke had no choice but to follow. He tried to keep his pace relaxed and channeled the way his classmates acted the best he could. He even thought he was doing a fairly good job, up until the moment that the Emperor indicated he should sit at his right.

_This is my father's seat. I didn't know that last time he asked me to sit there but this is my father's seat. He knew even then, and yet he lied to me. Everyone always lies to me._

Luke hadn't thought much about that first encounter with the Emperor, but he couldn't help it as he sat in the same seat as before. It was still too big, though not to the same extent. Luke would probably always be smaller than his father by at least a foot, but at least it was no longer two feet.

"Citizens of the Empire," Palpatine called out to the crowds below and live feed streaming to the galaxy. (Not that most of the galaxy watched. Perhaps the Inner rim would, but in the Outer Rim half the time no one mentioned it being Empire Day. They knew though. They always knew.)

"Today marks the 15th anniversary of when peace came to the galaxy. This great government is no longer a child. In fact, was it a sentient, it could get a Speeder's License today."

The crowd laughed, but Luke could feel the Emperor was not trying to be funny. In fact the Emperor oozed deadly ferocity that made Luke slightly nauseous. "Slavery and corruption are non-existent and the only violence comes from those whose feeble attempts to resist us result in their own destruction. The Jedi abused the Force, and in the end it destroyed them, but now the Force smiles upon us. Let the festivities begin!"

Palpatine sat back down as the Imperial Anthem began to play. A large parade filled with floats of Star Destroyers, Tie-fighters, the Emperor, and even Vader began to make its way around the royal courtyards and the city center. Luke had once thought Coruscant had no ground, but it did… it was just artificial and only extended where it was convenient. The poorer areas of Coruscant would have whole segments of buildings without any real ground supporting them, but not in the Senate and Palace districts. There it looked like… well actually a lot like Theed, which made sense considering the Emperor's history.

"What are you thinking about?"

Luke was startled by the Emperor's attempts at conversation, and considered quickly whether or not this was one of the many things he shouldn't say. It seemed like a relatively safe topic; Palpatine didn't hide his past the way Vader did. "I was thinking of Naboo your majesty. I went there earlier this week on a class trip and I couldn't help but notice that your palace is quite a bit like the one in Theed."

Beneath the cloak Luke could make out a sick smile, but he wasn't deceived. The Force told him how Palpatine truly felt, and that was evil and, well, dark. "Ah yes. I will admit to the influence. Did you enjoy seeing your mother's home? Much nicer than your father's if I do say."

It was true, Naboo was nicer than Tatooine, but Luke felt a certain loyalty to his home. He'd hated Tatooine while there, but now… well he would prefer being there than where he was at the moment. Luke couldn't say that though; he didn't need his father around to know that. "Naboo is beautiful your majesty, and I enjoyed seeing my mother's portrait and grave."

"Such a shame young Padmé's death," Palpatine added wistfully. "She was younger than you when we first met, but twice as bold. I dare say it's a good thing you have inherited a mellowness unlike either of your parents. You've had your moments, but most could not forgive their father for leaving them motherless."

Luke's stomach twisted. He'd suspected something like this would come up, but he'd expected it to be more than a few minutes in. Apparently the Sith did not value patience the way the Jedi did. "I do not wish to judge him without knowing the full story. He admits that he was wrong to hurt her, but I do not truly believe he was responsible for her death. After all she lived long enough to deliver me without his knowledge, so she must have been alive when Kenobi took her. If anyone is responsible it's probably me."

Palpatine let out an insidious laugh, and Luke wondered for a second if he was about to get murdered after all. "You are truly a naïve and foolish child."

"Perhaps," Luke admitted, growing bolder but still feeling completely engulfed by the Dark Force the Emperor radiated. "But I know how often the truth can be manipulated. After all, it was four years ago today that you told me that Darth Vader had killed my father. I would have killed him if I'd been able to and all because you and I had different definitions of death."

Neither could believe the words that had come from the teen's mouth, but for very different reasons. The Emperor realized that he had vastly underestimated Luke who might be mellow but had all of his parent's ferocity. Luke was just horrified and quickly stammered out an apology, "I'm sorry your majesty. I didn't mean any disrespect I…"

"Do not worry," the Emperor told Luke shocking the teen. The Emperor didn't seem to mad. He actually seemed kind for a moment. If not for the Force's warnings Luke might actually have believed it, but either the Emperor's shields had grown weak since the defeat of the Jedi or Luke was far more powerful than either imagined. "You are correct. I knew you would encounter your father sooner or later and sowed a seed of distrust. It was for your own good though. You would be right to distrust your father. He loves you, but he is not against destroying what he loves. Your mother could attest to that, as can you if what I hear is correct."

Luke wasn't surprised that the Emperor knew about the incident after the play, and he rubbed his neck subconsciously. "It was an accident. He didn't want to hurt me, but he can't always control himself."

"Yes, he always has allowed the Force too much control over his actions. Yet you forgive him so easily?"

"I don't think I'm capable of hate your majesty, not the prolonged sort at least," Luke admitted with a shrug. Perhaps the Emperor wouldn't like that; Sith were hate after all. That didn't mean it wasn't true though. Luke couldn't really hate anyone or anything, not even the Emperor. He just couldn't muster up the emotion anymore. Perhaps it had something to do with his Jedi training or maybe Luke was broken. He didn't know.

Palpatine obviously didn't either because he seemed surprised by the possibility. It was very likely that the Sith had never heard of someone who didn't hate anything. "Well, as I said you are very young and naïve."

Luke smiled, almost certain that that had nothing to do with it, "Perhaps your majesty."

"I want you to call me master, young Skywalker," the Emperor declared actually turning to look at Luke for the first time. He may be young, but he was not a child. He needed to begin his training if he was to be prepared by the time the Death Star was. "It will be a few years more before you are ready for me to train you in the ways of the Sith, but you are not my subject, you are my apprentice."

The idea sent a shiver down Luke's spine. Sure he knew where his training was headed, but he did not want to think of himself as the Sith's apprentice. He was very much a Jedi and while his father might let him continue as one the Emperor surely wouldn't. Still, Luke didn't want to face the punishing power of the Dark Side, so he let the words stick to his mouth. "Yes my master."

"Good," the Emperor assured with a nod. "I think perhaps it's also time you expand your training. Your skill with the Light Side is impressive and while you're not ready to accept the power of the Dark Side you are probably capable of learning more about the Senate and Court. Your cousin is Naboo's senator, is she not? Get in contact with her and have her give you lessons."

Luke probably would not like the idea of these lessons no matter what, but considering his awkward meeting with Pooja on Naboo he dreaded them. Still, this was the Emperor, "Yes Master."

"Good," Sidious replied, his voice sounding like a snake devouring its prey, and Luke knew exactly who the prey was. "Perhaps I can make a Sith of you yet."

They did not talk much more after that. Luke listened to the painful speeches and the (fake) pardoning of a youth in silence. The only fun part of the whole bit was watching the Tie-Fighter show. It was always spectacular, but with his father flying it was something else. Who would dare be a rebel against that?

Luke found it hard to enjoy though because he felt terribly sick. He knew it was the Darkness of the Emperor and tried to use the Light Side to push it away, but it was nearly impossible. There was just so much Darkness. By the third hour of the event Luke could think about nothing but the desperate voice screaming inside his head- _I need to get out of here! I need to get out of here! I need to get out of here!_

Finally Luke couldn't take it anymore, and he stood quickly, "Excuse me Master but I need to go to the fresher."

Luckily the Emperor no longer cared much and just waved the teen away. It took all of Luke's power not to run from the platform. Once away from peering eyes Luke did run, though not towards a fresher. He didn't actually need to go, he just needed to go away from there.

Slam! Luke tumbled to the ground as he turned a corner and smacked into someone. Blinking Luke accepted the hand he was being offered, and almost fell back down when he saw who he'd run into.

"Kes?"

Kes had grown up since Luke last saw him. He was almost 22 of course, so it meant sense, but it was odd to see. He looked more put together, more in control. The four others with him all looked as if they were following his lead, and, Luke noticed, had their hands on hidden blasters. (Nothing is hidden to the Force.)

"Luke?" Kes seemed as surprised to see Luke as Luke was to see Kes, but the older man was beaming. "Sith's Hell that is you! What are you doing here? I went back to Vorus to try and find you and I heard that Vader had gotten to you!"

Kes had come back for Luke? "It's a long story," Luke told his once-friend. Kes had been the opposite of Brandon, the person Luke had gone to once everyone thought he was a rebel. Now Luke was still too much of a rebel for Brandon and would certainly be too much of an Imp for Kes. Speaking of which… "I can't believe you're even alive!"

"Same with you!" Kes admitted actually pulling Luke in for a hug and hair ruffle. "After they let me go they had me followed hoping I'd lead them back to the Alliance, but I was smarter than them. It took me a few months but I lost the spy and made it back." Kes waved to the others around them. "My squadron. It's okay guys Luke has the fight of the Princess. Vader killed his parents personally."

That seemed to make the other rebels relax, which just made Luke feel terrible. If only they knew. "Look, Kes, not that I'm not glad to see you but what are you doing with a rebel squadron in the Imperial Palace!"

Before Kes could answer, Luke heard the sound of an explosion and some screaming. The smile on the rebels face that was all the answer Luke needed, well that and the yells of stormtrooper. "Yeah, no time to talk," Kes decided taking off at a run.

"This way," Luke told them figuring that all the spies would be out in the ceremonies not in the palace passages. "I know a way out of here."

The others seemed to doubt Luke, but not Kes. Kes could see nothing but the stupid little kid who'd been terrorized for something he hadn't even done. Now this, this was actual treason. It was good to know Luke was still a Rebel at heart. Kes and the other rebels followed Luke, and stared as the boy somehow opened up a passage in the wall.

"Follow this down until you reach a three-way fork. Take the right passage and then the next left and you'll reach the city's underground. No one will be able to find you down there," Luke told them not even responding to their stares. "Go! The troopers are dumb but do you want Vader finding you?"

That was enough to propel the other rebels into the hidden passageways, but Kes lagged in the back. "You weren't kidding about a Jedi coming to get you, were you?"

Luke had completely forgotten his and Kes's first conversation, but apparently Kes had not. "Look, it's a really long story you don't have time for. All that matters is I am where I belong and so are you. So just stay safe, okay?"

"You could come with us you know," Kes offered even as his friends called for him to come on. "We could use a Jedi, or whatever you are."

It was so very tempting, and yet, at the same time, it wasn't tempting at all. Luke wasn't sure how he felt about the rebels. They were right in a lot of regards about the Empire, but they were wrong to think the Empire was pure evil. The Emperor had terrible tactics, the Emperor was terrible, but a lot of them, but Luke's father, just wanted what was best for the galaxy. And Luke was in a position to do that. "I can't. It's better for everyone that I am where I am. I'm in a position to do real good. So I need you to punch me. That way it will look like I was trying to stop you and no one will question it too much."

Kes looked hesitant, but there was a certain determination in Luke's eyes that shouldn't belong to any 14-year-old. Even if Luke was deciding to stay with the Empire he sure had a rebel spirit, and, despite everything, Kes trusted him. So, he punched Luke flat in the face actually knocking the teen out.


End file.
